AMA: Re-Imagined.
Agency: Verse Group
The American Management Association is a non-profit corporate training group founded in 1913.
Despite its heritage, the AMA had struggled to overcome its common acronym and generic marketing
materials in promoting its Experiential Learning methodology, which consists of a seven stage
perpetual cycle of professional development.
Verse Group was tapped to create a fresh brand narrative and visual system for AMA. I proposed a mountaineering narrative, for its team/leader ethos in the conquest of a series of summits, each of of
which represents a new perspective and a new set of challenges.
The AMA Experiential Learning Learning Cycle suggests a series of technical climbs and summits.
Our core deliverable was the comprehensive set of identity guidelines. It included sections on brand strategy,
use of branding elements, and a compendium of grids and standards for a range of marketing communications.
I designed the guidelines and wrote the visual design-related content.
I rendered the concept visually as a system of intersecting coordinates. The brand mark is staged on a white tab, its beveled edge evoking forward momentum and drive. The brand colors blue and white in this context evoke snow and sky.
Together the graphic elements and imagery provide a new dynamic language for AMA. Flexible layout options and a tiered color palette allowed for a distinct hierarchy in their marketing materials. The bright Tier One colors are used as transparent tints on image-intensive promotional materials such as ads, newsletters and direct mail.
The darker Tier Two colors are used for a more "corporate" feel and for less image-intensive material such as the seminar booklet series above.
Verse also brainstormed new communications products for AMA expanding on the journey concept.
I explored a number of concepts for a brochure detailing their methodology. One direction a set of set of handy pocket
booklets in the style of outdoor field guides.
I explored a number of concepts for a brochure detailing their methodology. One direction a set of set of handy pocket
booklets in the style of outdoor field guides.
Another option was a single-sheet pocket folder into which could be inserted additional printed materials ...
...and which unfolded to become a poster identifying the organization’s training competencies in a cartographic metaphor.
