For-profit businesses, due to more consistent management, are better at developing a consistent communication theme. It seems that the nonprofit sector has little knowledge of using a cohesive strategy. Instead, it is most common to vary graphic directions in response to management shifts. From the most basic symbol of the organization through thematic recognition, most groups don’t build on what they have. For example, it is typical that those who have great logos don’t maximize their use into a visual language that can elevate memorability.
See “Thematic Language” for the best in the Midwest.
Exploring effectivenss reveals a new classification:
NOT THE BEST BUT COULD BE
These organizations have a good start out of the gate to graphic recognition but stall on the track. Perhaps they don’t perceive the race they are running, have too many political hurdles to jump, or haven’t made their visual communication a priority. Regardless of the reasons, much can be gained from perceiving missed opportunities.
American Osteopathic Association,
http://www.osteopathic.org/
AOA combines an acronym and illustration in their logo that also sets up an elegant typestyle. No where is this graphic potential expressed. It is obvious that few resources are committed to the online graphic presentation, causing this group to look less professional than is appropriate.
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities,
http://www.asbh.org/
ASBH stereotypically uses stock photography—like a painting on our wall that you stop noticing until you move it somewhere visually unfamiliar. The simple geometric logo could spawn a symbolic geometric language to house the content. Unfortunately, a really exciting group is made to look pedestrian.
International Special Events Society,
http://www.ises.com/
Although the logo uses the most common of elements, the arrangement of the letters within boxes is unusual and adds a special movement to the composition. The parts become greater than the whole. Such a playful typographic/geometric relationship could carry into the website graphics, but it doesn’t. If it did, the visual presentation could represent the exhibit presentation of the organization.
National Safety Council,
http://www.nsc.org
NSC doesn’t have a very visually appealing logo but it does communicate. Taking advantage of the universal “+” (as established by the Red Cross), this logo has instant validity. Although the it is as basic as it can be, the site does build from it with appealing icons and pleasing content composition.
Northwestern University Alumni Association,
http://alumni.northwestern.edu/
NUAA has a logo that is both friendly and formal. It is a beautiful blend of an “N” with the the oak leaf illustration. Though the website is basic, it is friendly. Further visual development could make it more engaging. NUAA has the beginning of a graphic foundation with the purple color to tie into NU’s colors, typographic style from the logo, and illustration potential.
Creating a theme suggested by a logo is not difficult yet missed so often. The fastest way to give all materials and communications unity is to set up some basic stylistic rules and stick to them. Care must be taken not to choose rules that are too restrictive or too lax, but act as tools to generate appropriate and consistent uses.
Nonprofits are particularly vulnerable to losing consistency due to too many cooks in the kitchen. Writing bylaws for design use can also support a process for decision-making, minimizing personal power plays. Design can be a volatile political football because it reveals motivations, misunderstandings, and missions. It becomes the organization’s self-portrait by first becoming its mirror.
The Sebastian Study: Midwest Nonprofits is completed in this blog. If you wish to know if your organization was considered, please visit www.wofw.com and contact me; I will be happy to share the review ranking with you.
The Sebastian Study: Second Life Nonprofits now begins, so watch for reviews, overviews, and experiences shared in upcoming posts. The ten best presentations will be analyzed, the almost-greats critiqued, and new conclusions drawn to help evolve effectiveness.
Sebastian Study: Design Review 