Delivering a brand-new look for APM

Our new brand comes at an important and exciting time in our history. Not only does it coincide with our 50^th anniversary, but the project profession itself has never been more important. The world is changing, and our profession is at the forefront of delivering positive change.

Our brand is central to the work we do and to our role as the only chartered membership organisation for the project profession. It’s about the organisation we are, and the one we want to be.

But most importantly, it’s about people; our employees, our members, our volunteers, our Chartered Project Professionals and the wider project profession and organisations we represent.

What is brand?

Some people think about brand as just a logo. For us, it’s about so much more.

Brand covers every aspect of people’s experience with us – from our publications, qualifications and website, through to our events, partnerships, membership and day-to-day communications.

Having a strong brand provides clarity and means that whenever people experience us – in any aspect – they have the same, positive experience.

Why has APM rebranded?

Our previous brand was introduced in 2005, so this is a long time to go without any fundamental change to our brand and visual identity. We wanted to ensure we stand out and remain relevant to our current members, and appeal to new members and audiences. Especially as we’re now the only chartered membership organisation for the project profession in the world.

We wanted to evolve our brand to reflect the organisation we’ve become. It’s important for us, now more than ever, to leverage our chartered status and to have a brand that can best reflect, support and communicate the organisation we’ve become – now and in the future.

What has changed as a result of the rebrand?

The most noticeable change has been to our visual identity, which includes our new logo, along with our new colour palette, fonts and visual elements.

You may also have noticed more personality in our tone of voice, encapsulating our values, which we’ve been working hard to embed. These values – Progressive, Thoughtful, Warm and Excellent – are a cornerstone of who we are and are a vital part of our growing brand.

You’ll see we’ve kept our name – we’re still APM: Association for Project Management.

Will there be any change to the products and services APM offers?

No. We’ll continue to offer all the same products and services that we do now. There will however be some visual changes to some of our products, such as digital badges, to reflect the new visual identity.

What does the crown in the logo represent?

The crown symbol in our logo represents our Royal Charter. It’s also an internationally-recognised symbol of excellence and quality. It embodies the dynamic energy of the project thread drawn in one continuous line signifying continuous improvement.

The crown symbol will also be used on its own alongside our chartered descriptor to provide a further, visual link to our chartered status.

What’s the significance of the green line?

We wanted a visual identity that was unique to APM, that will help us to stand out to our audience, while providing a link between who we are and who we represent.

That is why we have our green ‘project thread’ which is the constant running through our visuals, representing the progress of a project and connecting the processes, the project management community, and the wider societal benefits.

It guides you through communications in the same way we guide our members through the profession.

We decided to use green as the feedback given at our external focus groups said that green represents success. The same way green is used for success in a RAG report (red, amber, green).

Who has been involved in the rebrand process?

We worked with a specialist brand agency, so the rebrand has been a truly collaborative effort, underpinned by the largest piece of qualitative research we've ever undertaken.

Our members were involved in focus groups and interviews where they shared their thoughts on APM, helping us establish a framework for the new brand. We also spoke to non-members, volunteers, staff, training providers, corporate partners and opinion formers. This approach continued into the creative development phase where we held external focus groups to get feedback on our new visual identity, helping to develop it further.

Our Board of Trustees joined us along the entire journey from the initial brand review to approving the final logo and visual identity.