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Lunchtime Links: Breaking Down Oscar’s Brand New Look

The creative inspiration behind Oscar's new logo. Plus: three mobile apps no CEO should leave home without.

The creative inspiration behind Oscar’s new logo. Plus: three mobile apps no CEO should leave home without.

Every organization hopes its logo will become synonymous with its mission. But even the most iconic symbols need to evolve. Breaking down the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new-look design, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links.

Hey, Oscar, looking good, babe: The academy’s coveted gold statuette has been synonymous with cinematic greatness since the silent movie Wings took the first Best Picture award at a ceremony held in a banquet hall in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in 1929. But, as Chief Marketing Officer Christina Kounelias explains in a recent post on the academy’s website, the organization has never had a logo that incorporates the academy itself alongside its iconic Oscar—until now. Kounelias says the design, which took two years to create and features the statuette inside a triangular “A,” “underscores our efforts to support creative arts and sciences year-round.” Want to learn how the organization came up with its bold new look? Check out this site for videos, images, and more. You can thank me in your next acceptance speech.

Must-have apps: If you head up a major organization, it’s safe to assume you spend a good chunk of your time on the road, meeting with potential donors and partners and constantly shaking that tree to get the support you need. But being on the go has its challenges—not the least of which is staying on task. In an interview for Inc.com, Roman Stanek, CEO of Good Data, shares three apps that help him work more effectively when he’s on the move. Along with Evernote, there’s one called TripIt, which helps Stanek build itineraries and share them with employees. Another, called Tempo, puts all the information he needs for a particular meeting in one place. What tools do you use to stay productive and efficient on the road?

A measure of success: For years, nonprofits gauged their effectiveness largely by the amount they spent on overhead expenses. In an article on Nonprofit Technology Network, Nell Edgington, president of Social Velocity, explains it this way: “If a nonprofit spent a magic 20 percent or less on nonprogram expenses, they were deemed worthy of donations.” But is this really the way our organizations should be evaluated? While the 20 percent model allows for comparison across a wide spectrum of causes, does it explain what the organization is about? When it comes to true social change, Edgington says, measurement needs to be multidimensional. She highlights several new approaches, including one from Markets for Good that focuses on “outcomes and impact.” Looking for a new way to measure your organization’s success? Check out her full post.

What are you reading today? Tell us in the comments.

(AMPAS)

Corey Murray

By Corey Murray

Corey Murray is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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