Page 95 - Photoshop User February 2017

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CLIENT
Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education
the problem
Website before the new logo
“Surprisingly, she [Haugnes] says, others in the organization didn’t display any particular emotional attachment to the existing logo, so she initiated
the process of a brand refresh.”
about the client
There was no doubt in Haugnes’s mind that the POD Network needed to pay some attention to its brand. To her eye, the existing logo was unsophisticated and not really reflective of the organization’s professionalism. She had anecdotal evidence that others felt the same way, too. At international conferences, she says, “a lot of people were getting self-conscious about the brand.” Haugnes knew that the network needed a look that was more modern, more cohesive, and cleaner. Surprisingly, she says, others in the organization didn’t display any particular emotional attachment to the existing logo, so she initiated the process of a brand refresh.
Initially, she contacted an organization based in New York that was known for doing design work with non-
profits. They put together a “really nice” package, Haugnes says, but it was way more expensive than the network’s funds would allow. So Haugnes next turned to a creative strategist to help the network prioritize what it needed in terms of an identity. The strategist interviewed several POD members and suggested that rather than undertaking a whole identity project, the organization should start with a new logo and other smaller initiatives.
With that roadmap in hand, Haugnes set out to find a designer. A mutual friend, a copywriter, suggested she solicit a bid from Susan LeGrande, a designer the copywriter had worked with before. Haugnes presented that bid and two others to the network’s Board of Directors, and they chose LeGrande.
Haugnes told LeGrande that the organization wanted a logo that would give the impression of being approach- able and inviting, not some distant ivory-tower academic organization. “Being welcoming is something the network prides itself on” and is among its core values, Haugnes says.
The Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education is devoted to improving teaching and learning in higher education. Founded in 1976, POD provides its members with personal and academic relationships that are essential for professional growth.
Central to POD’s philosophy is lifelong, holistic, personal, and professional learning, growth, and change for the higher education community. The three purposes of POD are to: (1) Provide support and services for its members through publications, conferences, consulting, and networking; (2) offer services and resources to others interested in educational development; and (3) fulfill an advocacy role, seeking to inform and persuade educational leaders of the value of educational development in the institutions of higher education.
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