If iMentor was a person, how would you describe her personality?
That’s just one of the many questions that we asked ourselves in the process of rebranding the organization. For the past six months, Communications has worked with Hyperakt, a Brooklyn-based creative agency that specializes in brand strategy and creating digital experiences. After hundreds of hours spent conducting stakeholder interviews, brainstorms, workshops, and intensive strategy sessions, we landed on the following personality attributes: Daring, Smart, Inspiring, Honest, and People-first. These and many other elements make up iMentor’s new Brand Platform.
We are excited to announce that iMentor has a new and evolved brand identity that provides our organization with compelling and flexible visual and voice tools to communicate our impact in ways that inspire and uplift our staff, students, mentors, partners, and supporters.
What's new?
At its core, the new brand is about celebrating joy, opportunity, human potential, achievement, and inspiring everyone to play their part in ensuring that many more young people across the nation succeed in college and beyond.
In partnership with Hyperakt, Communications has developed core documents that will help our growing organization stay on brand. The new Brand Guidelines document is a comprehensive guide that provides clear direction on audience, voice, and tone. A highlight of this document is the Brand Story, which is succinct, inspirational language paired with bold images. Our Brand Guidelines show how to use our visual assets, including logo, tagline, color palette, photography, illustration, typography, and patterns.
Why is now the right time?
It goes without saying that the iMentor of 2016 is very different from the iMentor that existed in 1999.
In the past 16 years, we have grown in size, complexity, and also mission. We now proudly espouse the belief that we are fighting to rebalance the societal odds stacked against students in low-income communities and to give every student the opportunity to graduate college and achieve their ambitions. For too long, our brand identity has lagged behind our beliefs. More than that, we have evolved from a mentoring program serving just 40 students in the South Bronx, to a national college success organization that leverages thousands of volunteer mentors each year in New York City, Chicago, the San Francisco Bay Area, and nearly a dozen other cities through our Partner Programs.
It was the right time for this rebrand because our long-term sustainability depends on our ability to inspire thousands of new volunteers in new cities and equip our partners and supporters to serve as ambassadors of our brand.
What’s next?
Communications will roll-out the rebrand between March 1 and June 30, providing updated brand guidance via a roadshow to departments in the coming weeks. Effective March 1, Communications will use the new logo, tagline and visual guidelines for all official materials. Visual designs for the website, digital and print templates, letterhead, and business cards are already underway, and these tools will be announced in phases. The public website will launch in June.
Do you have questions about the iMentor rebrand? Tweet us at @iMentor or email [email protected].
