YWCA - USA: Yes - this is a logo

New: Young Women's Christian Association's extraordinary "YWCA" logo, featuring a new mission-statement slogan (and the 'YWCA persimmon' color)

Launched: April, 2004

Story in brief:
YWCA-USA is one of 100 nation-based YWCAs. Faced with declining funding and loss of US chapters (from 700 to 300), in 2001 some eighty concerned volunteers participated in a CapGemini-led "Accelerated Solutions Environment" workshop to rethink YWCA's reasons for being. Two purposes among many (like quality child care, teen pregnancy and homelessness programs) were chosen as common and defining... the traditional "empowering women" and the more surprising "eliminating racism."

A fifteen-person Brand Committee went to work. Research had confirmed the brand was weak, easily confused with the unrelated YMCA and misleading (YWCA is women-focused but neither Christian-driven nor youth-specific). Landor Associates won the RFP, and ultimately presented six rebranding strategies. The least conventional, most provocative, symbol-free 'missions logo' was the committee's unanimous choice. Subsequently, the national YWCA board's approval was also unanimous.

It is a courageous solution, to my knowledge unprecedented (all text, big slogan and tiny name?) and it has triggered much discussion, both in identity design circles and among the 300 YWCA chapters; the large majority of them support the change, but others continue to resist. YWCA's board, however, welcomes the ongoing challenge this solution imposes, including the inevitability of future mission change thus logo change.

Credits:
Leaders - Volunteers like Kathy Luper of the Fort Worth chapter, co-chair of the brand committee
Counsel & logo design - Landor SF, creative director Margaret Youngblood
Implementation & standards design - Landor (modified by Bozell&Jacobs)

First Impressions:
Was the old YW mark meant to be a crotch, or am I seeing things? In any case it wasn't Saul Bass's best work, and (I am told) was disliked by members.

The new mark is indeed creative, conceptually if not graphically exciting, and if it is aggressively implemented I believe it will succeed in attracting members and money and reviving the brand.

But face it, it is not itself a thing of beauty; it is a sign not a symbol, and it will not always enhance the appearance of media in which it appears (like yellow pages ads) as a good mark should. Some zoning/ architectural review boards will fight the signs. Its effectiveness will be more dependent than other CI programs on consistent, respectful implementation.