New logo: Rotary

Rotary International is an organisation that brings together leaders of business and other fields to service the community, made up of about 34,000 clubs around the world. American brand consultancy Siegel+Gale have worked with Rotary for about two years to review their brand and their communication. This resulted in a "global public image initiative" that launched in September. It includes a refreshed visual identity.

The well recognised wheel symbol wasn't changed, but has been accompanied by a wordmark that clearly communicates its name. It will be used by both Rotary International and the charitable organisation Rotary Foundation, thus uniting their identities.

Previous Rotary International logo.

"Finally, in collaboration with Rotary’s global steering committee, Siegel+Gale refreshed the visual identity to energize Rotary’s look and feel, while celebrating its heritage. We did not set out to reinvent the wheel (logo). On the contrary, the team wanted to celebrate the wheel’s heritage and build upon a highly recognizable and globally respected identity that has unified and inspired Rotarians for over a century.

Elevating the Rotary name was the first critical step in re-energizing the logo. Not only did scaling up the word Rotary in proportion to the wheel symbol put the more proprietary identity component front and center, it unified the two parts of the organization—Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation—under one powerful banner. The wheel is applied boldly as a mark of excellence—a pledge of commitment, a symbol of leadership, a sign of social and ethical responsibility. We also made sure that it was optimized for digital use.

With a stronger primary logo in place, the team set out to build a bolder, easier-to-manage visual system that would continue to inspire creativity while enabling strategic decision-making and visual consistency across communications, media types and geographies. Together, a refreshed color palette, typography system and re-inspired approach to using photography—capturing the spirit of Rotarians around the world and the communities they serve—enable the organization to move forward with a more consistent visual expression." - Siegel+Gale case study

Rotary International
Siegel+Gale