Making It Real (Fast)

One of my favourite presentations from the Collision conference was “Making It Real (Fast)” with Pentagram partner Emily Oberman. Not only was this due to my personal bias of loving any topic that’s branding related, but she revealed how a simple logo can change a brand identity and bring people together.

Emily’s first story was that of Warner Brothers. Believe it or not, Warner Brothers employees lacked an internal identity. In order to tackle this problem, Emily sought out to uncover what people thought of them. This was a lengthy process which included 45 stakeholder interviews and 13 roundtable discussions. Emily uncovered that people thought of Warner Brothers as storytellers, so she used this theme from her findings to create a brand manifesto of “we believe in the power of story”. This line served as what the company stood for to aid the internal team in developing an identity.

If you’re a hardcore Warner Brothers fan, you may have noticed that they have gone through several logo changes over the years. Yet despite there being numerous updates to the logo, the one they had still looked outdated when compared to its competitors. Companies now have sleek and simple logos whereas Warner Brothers logo had an outdated look. Emily was determined to clean up the logo to show a clarity of vision which could last and not have the need to be updated constantly like they had prior to her working with them.

Emily removed the sash to provide a modern, clean and simple style. When designing the logo, they also took into consideration how it could adapt cinematically. Imagine you’re watching Harry Potter. The logo could easily transform to take on the dark and gloomy theme, making it appealing to viewers and setting the tone as they begin to watch a film. Along with revamping the logo, they added a typeface that felt timeless and clean. This allowed for consistent marketing down the road as the font matched the logo and allowed for additional text to be added when necessary.

Emily’s second branding story was not as lively as that at Warner Brothers, but was highly impactful. In 2017 Ebola had come back and doctors around the world were on a mission to stop the outbreak before it got worse. Emily received a call from UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response

(UNMEER) that they were sending doctors to west Africa to flatten the curve, but they lacked an identity.

While you may think that a simple logo couldn’t be much help during a health crisis, the Ebola response team needed something to make the volunteers and doctors feel united. They needed a symbol that gave them importance and unity as they set off to save lives. Not only was this necessary for the frontline workers, but they needed people from west Africa to understand that they were official and seeing the logo on someone’s shirt meant that they were someone they could turn to for help.

With the urgent need to send out doctors and volunteers, Emily had a mere 3 days to come up with a logo. When brainstorming logo ideas, Emily’s first thought was to take the classic UN icon and add “Global Ebola Response” beside it. This was simple enough since people already recognized the UN icon and “Global Ebola Response” was self-explanatory.

Luckily, Emily did some research on the area the team was going to help and came across the phrase and symbol “boa me na me mmoa wo” which translates to "help me and let me help you". This expression and symbol are well known across Africa as a sign of cooperation and independence which served as the perfect inspiration for the logo. It’s similar to the peace sign and symbol that we use. She added bright colours and placed “Global Ebola Response” beside the UN logo and the "boa me na me mmoa wo" symbol. Emily jokingly commented that this proves that no matter how tight your deadline is, you should always make time to do research

Shortly after creating the logo, it was plastered on buttons, t-shirts, backpacks and any gear the workers would wear. For the workers and volunteers, this logo meant a sense of unity and standing together for the greater good, while for the people in Africa, it meant having the confidence that they would get the help they needed.

Logos carry a lot of power. Not only can they act as a memorable icon for an organization, but they can give employees a sense of internal guidance like at Warner Brothers or that they provide comfort and unity as with the Global Ebola Response team. Logos make something feel real. So next time you look at a logo, think of who may have designed it, and what their mission was when creating it.