APTA is an association on the move, and soon it will have a logo to match.
Monday night, the association unveiled its future national logo, which it will begin using in the summer of 2020, coinciding with the launch of a new APTA.org.
The future logo can be seen at the end of a video that APTA CEO Justin Moore, PT, DPT, shared during his address to the 2019 APTA House of Delegates in Chicago. The logo's general shape pays tribute to multiple previous association logos—particularly in the use of a triangle shape, which can be traced back to the association's first logo from 1921.However, the mark also features contemporary design that evokes movement and hints at a more open, outward-facing association.
The future logo inspired applause from delegates—and over the next few years there will be more reasons to celebrate as APTA implements other elements of its association branding project. APTA plans to rename several of its products, services, and events, and it is providing chapters and sections with the opportunity to align within the new brand system.
The logo is one small but important piece of that.
"The brand project is about ensuring that our collective value is greater than the sum of our parts," Moore said. "It's also about committing to a higher level of excellence across all our programs, products, and member experiences."
The new association brand will be implemented in several phases, with most visual changes slated to coincide with the association's centennial in 2021.
APTA's existing national logo has been in use since 1998. APTA also has dozens of unique product, service, and event logos—and that adds up to a disconnected and complex association experience, said APTA President Sharon Dunn, PT, DPT, Board-Certified Orthopaedic Clinical Specialist.
"It's time to embrace change and imagine something different," Dunn said when discussing the brand in her annual address to the House. "Aligning our dozens of brands won't be easy, but the result will be a more accessible association. A unified brand strategy makes it easier for our community to engage, and it strengthens our collective voice. It's yet another chance to be better together."
APTA's 3-year strategic plan includes an objective to "embody the APTA mission and vision through an integrated brand strategy," in order to help deliver on the goal to "maximize stakeholder awareness of the value of physical therapy."
