From: Essie Zar <ezar@wikimedia.org>
Date: Thu, Mar 5, 2020 at 12:38 AM
Subject: [Brand Project] Next Steps, FAQs, and Thank You
To:
Cc: Brand Project <brandproject@wikimedia.org>
Hello everyone!
Thanks to you, we have collected 23 different concepts of who we are as a movement. These concepts have come from 97 total collaborators, who belong to 58 Wikimedia affiliates, and reflect 41 countries.
We have met together in Oslo, Norway and in Bengaluru, India and online. We have asked hard questions about branding and the future of our movement. These are just the beginning of the discussions we will have throughout this open branding project.
Next week, Snøhetta will publish a summary of the 23 concepts. You will be invited (along with your communities and anyone interested) to “star” and comment on the concepts you believe best represent the movement.
In preparation, we wanted to share some materials that have been helpful to us over the past two months. If you find them useful, please feel free to share them with your communities. Our process is meant for many voices to come together, and we appreciate your help in spreading the word to Wikimedia affiliate members and volunteers that you likely know better than us.
We are grateful that you have made time to join us in the process and to collaborate with us on not only the concepts, but also the naming convention and design work that is still to come.
Let us know if there are any questions we can answer, or key materials you would like to share with your communities.
More soon,
Essie
Photos & Videos from the Workshops
Ready to be shared on-wiki and on community social media or chat groups!
Note: if you have taken photos and wish to share them, please add them to the right category on Commons.
Summary of workshop activities
Meta-Wiki pages coming soon!
Oslo
Online
India
Learn more
Check out the Project blog
Visit the Meta-Wiki project page (we welcome translation help!)
Join the “Brand Network” working group on Facebook (Meta-wiki solution coming soon)
Key questions and answers about the Brand Project
More answers to frequent questions are available on the project FAQ
These are the questions being asked most frequently of the brand team right now. We wanted to share them with you as a resource as you continue thinking about and discussing the project. Feel free to use the information however is helpful for you. If other questions come up in your conversations that you would like clarity on, we are happy to provide that. Send them to us by replying to this email or posting them on the project page or the Brand Network.
What is the scope of this project?
The Wikimedia movement branding will be revised through this design process. Concretely, this means an alternative naming convention for the Foundation and for affiliates, which will be opt-in. It also means new designs, which will also be opt-in. Wikimedia project names and marks will not be adjusted. See more.
Is “Wikipedia” the only option for naming conventions?
The 2018 brand research and strategy showed that Wikipedia is a world-class brand known around the world. It has more than 80% awareness in Europe and North America, and fast-growing recognition in emerging internet markets. Wikipedia is much better known than the Wikimedia brand name (which confuses some due to its similarity to Wikipedia) or the sister projects. Using the Wikipedia name thus offers our Movement the opportunity to quickly increase understanding of what we do, and stand for.
Following this research, Snøhetta is going to use Wikipedia as a starting point for the naming convention discussions. We do not yet know how Wikipedia will fit into the naming convention (see below). Look for first proposals around these naming ideas in April. Community guidance will give us the opportunity to further change and refine the naming.
How will the naming convention use “Wikipedia”?
The details of how Wikipedia will be incorporated are still unknown. Snøhetta is tasked with taking Wikipedia and using the concepts from the workshops and other feedback points to create a first proposal. This proposal will be reviewed and refined in consultation with the community. Because the process is about creating as we go, we do not have this answer yet. The process will arrive at the answer.
Questions like this have been common in this process. Ultimately, they are questions about outcomes that are assumed to be known, but in fact are not known by design. Similar questions include “Should the Foundation change its name to the Wikipedia Foundation?” “Will Wikimedia Antarctica be asked to change its name to Wikipedia Antarctica?” While we do not know what proposed solutions will be, we do know that this process will not mean that the word “Wikimedia” is just replaced with “Wikipedia”. When a first proposal comes out in April, those interested in the project will be able to have more concrete conversations.
Relatedly, how does the recent Meta-Wiki Request for Comment discussion on brand impact this project?
The RfC discussion on naming was ahead of this project’s process. It asked people to vote on a naming convention that may have very little to do with what Snøhetta will actually propose when we reach the “naming convention” portion of this project. Following the project timeline, Snøhetta is collecting and analyzing concepts and feedback this month, and we expect them to share a first proposal on naming in April. At that point, the proposal will be released movement-wide for feedback.
What are the key moments in this process that communities/affiliates following this process should be aware of?
There are three key moments when Snøhetta will share work that will need guidance from across our movement.
Choosing a brand “concept” (March) - This is coming next week. It will be a chance to look over all 23 concepts that were developed during our workshops in January and February. After one week of comments, Snøhetta will review and then finalize the one concept that will be used moving forward. We will send you an email when this exercise is posted.
Reviewing brand “naming conventions” (April) - This will be a chance to look over and guide a proposal on movement naming conventions. This will be a very active discussion time, as we’ve seen with the RfC on movement/Foundation naming! We want to collect LOTS of perspectives here, so we hope you can share the proposal widely with your communities. We will also notify you when this is going live.
Looking at “brand design” (May/June) - This will be a chance to look at a proposal for new Movement graphics including a proposal for logo, colors, typeface, etc. This should incorporate naming ideas from Round #2. Expect an email from us on this as well.
How does the brand project connect to Movement Strategy?
In short, the brand project is inspired by the Strategic Direction and guided by Movement volunteers in service of the 2030 goals. This project runs in parallel under the umbrella of the 2030 goals, but our process is not connected to the continued development of the Movement Strategy recommendations. Just like the strategy process, the brand process is participatory and transparent. As a result of opinions uncovered during the 2030 research and planning, and in respect of community self-determination, any results of the brand project will be opt-in for affiliates.
In more depth, the Movement Strategy process has defined a bold strategic direction for Wikimedia’s next 10 years: “By 2030, Wikimedia will become the essential infrastructure of the ecosystem of free knowledge, and anyone who shares our vision will be able to join us.”
Recognizing the challenge of serving “anyone who shares our vision [to] be able to join us,” the Wikimedia Foundation Communications team began researching the Movement’s global brand positioning in 2017. We wanted to know how our projects were recognized and understood in the world, what people know and support of our mission, and how we could simplify our “brand architecture” to make it easier to understand and join our movement.
The resulting brand research and strategy suggested simplifying Movement branding by using the name Wikipedia in place of Wikimedia. How this should be done (as in, how new naming conventions should be developed, along with what brand design changes) is part of the current Brand Project. Like the Movement Strategy, the brand project is an open and participatory process. We invite anyone to join the process as part of the active working group, or by commenting on draft brand materials via email and on-wiki discussions.
What support will be offered to affiliates who want to make a branding change at the end of this process?
The Foundation’s Legal team is reviewing options to help facilitate brand changes for affiliates. We are also exploring how to support the estimated costs for affiliates to change their brand materials. This is an important area we have heard lots of questions about during the workshops and we aim to share more soon.
What is the Board’s role in this process?
The Board has approved this project and the recommendation to move forward with exploring Wikipedia as a starting point. They also participated in the same brand workshop you did. Following the end of this process, they will provide direction on the outcomes and, if relevant, on adoption.
What will an “opt-in” system mean in practice?
Affiliates will be free to decide whether they would like to use the new naming convention and design elements after reviewing them and shaping them l. Adoption will likely happen in waves, as groups are ready to make a change, instead of any single change moment. Early adopters will help other affiliates see how and if they should make brand changes and further refine the movement brand system in practice.. The goal of this project is to create a new brand identity that affiliates are excited to use, that acts as a tool to help clarify and make your work easier.
Can I invite more people to join?
YES. Of course! Interested people can follow the project on Meta-Wiki or join the “brand network” working group on Facebook. For anyone interested in joining the brand network that does not have Facebook, there will be a brand network section going live on Meta when Wikimedia Space closes on 31 March. More information about that will be posted on the project page at the end of the month.
We look forward to welcoming more people to the process.
 | Essie Zar (she/her) Brand Manager Wikimedia Foundation |