New Logo Promises Higher Visibility for APS

Over the years many APS members have noted that, unlike other organizations, APS lacked a unique visual image that identified it as an organization working in the plant health community. "Since APS's founding we've had our 'seal', which was often only used on more official APS documents," states Erik Stromberg, chair of the APS Branding Committee formed to look at APS's image and logo needs. "But it wasn't something that lent itself very well to being reproduced and it didn't readily communicate the essence of what APS is about. We've been saying for quite some time that we needed a logo. At last year's annual meeting the Branding Committee was formed to do just that." The committee members include Erik Stromberg, VPI & State University; Forrest Nutter, Iowa State University; Suzanne Hurtt, USDA-ARS; Greg Tylka, Iowa State University; Jacque Fletcher, Oklahoma State University; Allison Tally, Syngenta Crop Protection and Tony Glenn, University of Georgia.

Long before having any artwork commissioned, the APS Branding Committee's first job was to find out what "image" APS should present. They began by polling a cross section of members to find out what they perceived to be APS's key attributes. States Stromberg, "Not all members perceive APS in the same way and we wanted to incorporate all aspects of APS. It was critical then that we ask different types of members for their thoughts." They identified a list of keywords common to many of their interviews. These words became the creative blueprint, so to speak, for the design and development of potential logos.

Once they had a group of possible logos for review, the committee used a professional guide developed specifically for evaluating logos. Each logo design was judged against the guide's criteria, which included the following:

Directness. The power of a logo is in its directness, the immediacy in which it communicates. The new APS logo achieves the goal of offering a simple mark that quickly communicates.

Representative. Logos should represent the function, service or product of business. Plant pathologists' overall goal is to ensure the health of plants. Healthy leaves were used to communicate this key message. The leaves are abstract, not easily identifiable as a particular plant, to accommodate the diversity of the organization.

Reflective. A logo should reflect the personality the business wants to project; typically this includes a message of quality, sense of trust, longevity. The personality of APS is reflective of the society through its focus on the following features:

• Innovative

The overall fresh look of the design, the thinning of the curved line that curves back into the acronym, the unique font, the leaves reaching up and forward all reinforce APS as innovative.

• Professional

The upper case acronym and the clean design reinforce the professionalism and high quality of the organization.

• Forward-thinking

The movement of the leaves, the smaller leaf that appears to be growing upward and the larger leaf that is stretching out, both of which are growing out of the "APS," convey the message of a progressive, dynamic, forward-thinking organization.

• Global

The circular image in the background represents the world, and the worldwide membership of APS.

• Collaborative

The curve coming out of and then returning into the "APS" as a modified (thinner) design reinforces the concept of collaboration, and the sharing of information.

• Dedicated

The "APS" in a strong position at the base of the circle offers a sense of dedication and solidness.

• Nurturing

Again the leaves offer a nurturing perspective, the curves in the leaves and font also reinforce a natural, flowing feel making the image very friendly, personable and inviting.

Reducibility. This is the "golden rule" for logos. It is one thing to design a logo that is a foot tall, but it also needs to be recognized in smaller versions. If the logo is well conceived, it will work well on the spine of a book or as a banner in a convention hall.

"The logo we selected seemed to meet these criteria and more. It best reflected the key ideas members shared with us in our interviews," states Stromberg. The APS Council readily agreed, approving of the logo in an official vote on July 27. The logo was "unveiled" as part of the business breakfast at the APS Annual Meeting on August 28. Adds Stromberg, "With our redesigned website and new publications like Plant Health Progress, we're reaching out to more people than ever before. The logo will go a long way in promoting APS and the important work of our members."