Oregon Humanities

The Road to Oregon Humanities

Behind the scenes of our recent adventure in branding

Kathleen Holt

Maybe you’ve noticed: we’ve changed. Maybe you’ve seen and read about our new look in the September Oregonian article, or on our new website, or at one of our recent events. Maybe you’ve watched our short films on YouTube or our website. Maybe you picked up our new business cards or pins at Wordstock or a Conversation Project program. Maybe you’ve received correspondence from us on our new stationery.

You may wonder how this all happened. It wasn’t a quick, sudden process, but more of an evolution, a gradual response to changing times, values, and experiences. Here’s the short version of the long story of how the Oregon Council for the Humanities became Oregon Humanities.

June 2008: Based on discussions at winter retreats, board and staff prepare a three-year vision and planning document that focuses on program responsiveness and improved access to all Oregonians, and the value of inquiry and conversation as tools for transformation and growth. This vision, these plans, were a long time coming: For years, staff had been thinking about how the humanities could be seen as tools of change and how our programs and publications could better engage more Oregonians. How can Oregon Chautauqua be redesigned to encourage dialogue among participants? Could we start a discussion series held in a bar? How should the magazine model and inform humanities inquiry? As part of these plans, staff and board prioritize organizational branding and website redesign to better communicate the new direction.

December 2008: Staff launch Think & Drink, a conversation series that explores provocative ideas. Former Wieden+Kennedy creative director Jelly Helm serves as the inaugural Think & Drink presenter. Inspired by his ideas that advertising as we know it is broken, that good storytelling is the key to strengthening connectedness among an organization’s constituents, staff members ask Jelly for advice about how to move forward in telling the story of the humanities in Oregon.

January 2009: Armed with the vision, planning documents, and blessings from the board, staff meet with several individuals and agencies to discuss proposals for a branding project to be completed by October 2009. The budget is tight and the project is big: some agencies immediately bow out, but others promise to submit bids by the February deadline.

Mid-February 2009: Several good bids come in. Jelly submits not just a bid but also a concept: drop “council” from the organization’s name because the word suggests exclusivity and become “Oregon Humanities.” Then, he says, use “O. Hm.” as an acronym, but also as a tagline: O. Hm. The sound of hearing a new idea. “Because that’s what you’re really about,” he says. “Getting people together to talk about ideas.” Staff enthusiastically respond to the name change and concept, believing the organization’s vision and work are embodied in these few words. One staff member remarks, “We spent years trying to figure out how to explain what we do in fewer than a hundred words, and Jelly comes up with how to do it in two sounds: O. Hm.”

Late February 2009: A handful of board members and industry professionals meet to review the bids. Staff recommend that Jelly be hired because of the freshness of his idea and his proven track record. Although some committee members express concern, worrying that without good typography, the “O. Hm.” could be read as “Ohm,” most are excited. And one member remarks, “I think we should take seriously the staff’s enthusiasm for this campaign.”

March 2009: Jelly assembles a team to begin work on the project: Frederik Averin will serve as designer, Jody Hart as production manager, Thom Walters will help with developing a creative brief, and Reed Harkness and Sarah Marcus of Grow Film will produce a short film. A seven-month run—peppered by countless meetings and near-daily phone calls and e-mail exchanges—begins!

April 2009: Staff contact Oregonian reporter Laura Oppenheimer, whose beat is creative marketing, to tell her about plans for rebranding the organization. With board approval, Laura, who first met with staff during Jelly’s Think & Drink program, is offered full access to all sources and meetings so that she can accurately report on the process from start to finish.

May 2009: More meetings, phone calls, and e-mail exchanges. Though the deliverables aren’t yet finalized, the “O. Hm.” concept has already begun energizing staff members’ work.

June 2009: Jelly presents his initial ideas to the board of directors. Discussion revolves around the tone of the campaign: Is “O. Hm.” too flip? One board member worries that the three letters are too much like a text message. Another board member responds that he likes the concept because the organization has long struggled to succinctly and engagingly explain its purpose and work, and “O. Hm.” does the trick. By the end of the meeting, most board members are enthusiastic about the campaign and eager to see the finished work, which is due in the fall.

July 2009: More meetings, phone calls, and e-mails. Part of Jelly’s proposal includes the production of a short film based on interviews with interesting Oregonians about their “O. Hm.” moments. Staff and Jelly’s crew begin making inquiries to nearly a hundred Oregonians, but because of travel constraints and timing, only thirty or so can participate.

August 2009: Jelly’s Old Town studio is transformed into a green room for filming weekend. For two days, Oregonians file in, sign releases, visit with one another, and are led downstairs to the filming area to be interviewed by Jelly and the Grow Film staff. Some film participants have driven from Ashland, eastern Oregon, and the coast to talk to filmmakers about their “O. Hm.” moments and the reasons new ideas are frightening but also necessary for growth and change.

Early September 2009: New stationery, t-shirts, metal folding pins, and Moleskine journals begin arriving at the Oregon Humanities offices. The deliveryman carting a hand truck piled high with boxes of letterhead and envelopes is greeted by cheering staff members. “Huh,” he says, baffled, “that’s the most excited anyone has ever been to receive stationery.”

Mid-September 2009: Thanks to Adam McIsaac and Eric Hillerns of Pinch Design, the new website (oregonhumanities.org) is up and functional—and pretty! Meanwhile filmmakers have decided to produce a series of short films rather than just one, and the first premieres on the new website and YouTube.

Late September 2009: A three-page article runs in the _Sunday Oregonian_’s O! section, featuring photos taken at a Think & Drink event and also at the August filming. The red “O. Hm.” pins are used throughout the layout as bright flashes of color.

October 2009: Oregon Humanities has a series of coming-out events at Think & Drink with Richard Read and Lijia Zhang, Wordstock, and a private celebration for everyone involved with the project. All of the films are shown to rousing applause. Afterward, though the wine is gone and the platters of finger foods are empty, people linger to talk about the stories and reflections they heard in the films. They talk and laugh, their brows furrow as they listen to one another. Eventually, they go home, still thinking, still pondering, their minds full of ideas and conversation.