Manifest Digital Human Experience Society

In the early 21st century, the act of radical re-branding has become so common as to be a cliche. We have already grown weary of a world in which entertainers, politicians, and corporations act as if changing a name or a logo erases the past. Yet they keep trying. What’s worse, as part of these radical rebrands, many companies discard products, services, or aspects of their cultures that form key components of their users’ experience. Without a thorough understanding of that experience, it’s easy to dismiss anything that doesn’t contribute to the bottom line.

Insight Labs, the non-profit initiative housed at Manifest, has seen many organizations at risk of losing key parts of their identity. For example, one religiously-based aid organization working with the Labs had considered re-branding itself along secular lines because the reach of its services had extended far beyond members of the particular faith. The group’s leaders eventually rejected the change; Lab participants agreed, pointing out that the group’s religious identity not only helped them to promote intercultural tolerance, but pointed toward their next logical move as an organization. They would go on to develop a plan where they could leverage their successes to develop even more connections with groups unlike themselves.

There are plenty of creative agencies out there who will happily harbinger a brand revolution for a company or non-profit without considering the consequences. But a prudent rebrand (or any other major change within an organization) will take into account the totality of users’ experience. That doesn’t require bold proposals in an empty room; it requires conversation and research. That research may show that a radical change is not in fact an organization’s best course of action. But having contemplated such changes in cooperation with their users, organizations can come to better understand who they really are.

Image: Delphic Sybil, Sistine Chapel