Case Study: Appraisers Association of America

 

Assignment: Brand Identity + Implementation

 

Creative Challenge:  Appealing to a New Primary Audience

As the Appraisers Association shifted from an inward focused membership-centric network to an outward looking institution that could help elevate the professional profile, they required an identity that reflected that change and would appeal to the general public.

 

Strategy: A System that Communicates Value

For the Appraisers Association, the communication of “value” is a central theme: to the public they want to represent that appraisers are the “standard bearers of value”; to their loyal membership they want to represent that as an institution, the Appraisers Association maintains a “dedication to their core values.”

 

We identified an early representation of value in the Appraisers Association’s own history. The institution’s first identity utilized a rendering of an owl. This icon of wisdom and knowledge was used as a central component of a new identity, modernized and represented in a seal—the concrete representation of approval used by appraisers. The seal was expanded as a circular motif that can be used as a metaphorical loupe or lens. As a repetitive element, the diverse content of the memberships’ specialties can be represented in a clean and compelling design.

 

The versatility of the motif has been tested through multiple implementations and it has proven to be highly customizable while capable of building brand value for the institution through each iteration.

 

• Investing in a well developed system allows the Appraisers Association to implement their new identity materials in-house.

• The new brand has reinvigorated the membership who are helping boost the status of the institution by promoting their association.