WCS Evolves with a Brand Refresh: The Perfect Balance of Elegance and Youthfulness
After four years of pink power, Women's Career Society felt ready for a significant change. Join us as we take a walk through the decisions and changes made, and get acquainted with our new brand identity.
Recently, Women's Career Society underwent a brand renewal process that embodies the organization's values and mission, creating an elegant, timeless yet approachable vibe. Today, we delve into the brand renewal process and hear from the women behind the brand about how it came to be and what it means for the future of WCS.
“WCS is still the same, staying true to its core values. We feel that this new aesthetic reflects the organization's growth while still honoring the legacy of the pink,” said Janita Suojanen, President of Women’s Career Society.
Kaisa Sinivuori, the Head of Brand at WCS, explains the thought process behind the brand renewal.
“WCS is on a mission to cultivate a warm and inclusive community that welcomes everyone as they are. To keep pace with our vision, we decided to do a brand refresh to give WCS a more timeless and relevant feel. Our aim is to create a welcoming and approachable brand that reflects our community's vibrancy and values.”
Illustrator Helen Eklöf and Art Director Hanna Miettinen are the creative forces behind Women’s Career Society’s new brand. Photo: Joonas Tsokkinen
Hanna Miettinen, the Art Director who led the brand renewal, further elaborates on the design choices.
“My main goal throughout the design process was to create a brand identity that is visually inviting, rich, and most importantly, easy to use. I aimed to find the core of Women’s Career Society and translate it into a visual language.”
“The new color palette has it all: power, warmth, elegance, playfulness, and confidence.”
“The whole process was pretty smooth, and I enjoyed it a lot. The positive challenge was to include iconic WCS-pink in the new brand with the whole new color theme. But with careful planning and many potential color palettes later, the right shades were found, and pink goes seamlessly and beautifully with other colors,” Hanna continues.
That being said, the colors are about much more than just looking beautiful. There is true meaning and symbolism behind each shade; the power of black, the warmth and welcoming nature of beige, the elegance of white, the confidence of red, and the playful legacy of pink.
“The new color palette has it all: power, warmth, elegance, playfulness, and confidence. The colors make the brand stand out in an inviting and inspiring way,” says Hanna.
Alongside the thoroughly considered color palette, illustrations played a significant role in creating the new, complete look of WCS. Illustrator Helen Eklöf explains,
“I wanted the illustrations to be relatable and elegant which is why I mainly drew inspiration from nature.”
“My role was to create illustrations that would help bring the brand to life. I wanted the illustrations to be relatable and elegant which is why I mainly drew inspiration from nature.”
For Helen and Hanna both, the purpose and value base of WCS played a huge role.
“For me, this project was special because it aligns with my personal values of supporting and uplifting women. I wanted to create visuals that would inspire and motivate the organization's target audience. Hanna and I aimed to create a strong visual that celebrates women and encourages them to reach their full potential ”, says Helen.
When asked about the best part of the project, all women state that the team collaboration and spirit were the highlights.
“Hanna and Helen really represented that kind of mentality of strong, inspiring women supporting one another and working together for an important cause by donating their time and expertise for our brand renovation process,” says Kaisa.
“The new look is designed to serve for multiple years to come, helping to gain more recognition for the organization. Also, it’s designed to be as simple as possible to maintain, which is important as all of our amazing board members are contributing their time on a voluntary basis”, she continues.
The brand has been embraced by the entire WCS team, and Janita shares Kaisa’s belief that the renewed brand will help Women's Career Society achieve its mission.
"Our renewed brand is not just a new look, it's a statement. It's a statement that we are a professional and credible organization that takes our mission seriously. We believe that our renewed brand will help us attract new members and partners who share our values and beliefs. I’m very proud of Kaisa, the entire team and the new look. We can’t wait to hear if our community enjoys it as much as we do!”
