Clement Wu: What We've Learned from the Live Strong Wristband and Other Symbols
As a preliminary step towards coming up with a symbol I looked into others for various social or political causes. Some have a design that comes directly from a unique concept or history, like the recycling symbol or the pink triangle while others like the AIDS ribbon and the Live Strong wristband developed meaning through their usage.
The LIVESTRONG wristband as a design case study is particularly fascinating to me because I'm drawn to its graphic design, including the extended iconography and merchandise of the larger Wear Yellow campaign -- and simply because it was so successful. According to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, more than 58 million people wear the wristband, which has been sold to people in more than sixty countries. In terms of creative process, I wondered how it came about: was Lance Armstrong himself in a room with designers, sociologists, writers, and cancer survivors going over how design could inspire and empower people with cancer? Was Armstrong vetoing ribbons and buttons and then having an "aha" moment when the idea for a wristband sprung forth? Were the wristbands a bold replacement for the bracelets worn by hospital in-patients, or a reference to friendship bracelets, appropriate for a campaign about people supporting each other? Earlier in the year I had written Nike to find out more. A community relations manager wrote back the following:
"Nike had originally created the wristbands to show support for basketball athletes, but it never took off. The concept was then applied to a cause and it took off."
At first, I was a little disappointed that the design solution was accidental, but I quickly realized that there's absolutely nothing wrong with a little bit of serendipity; if anything, it's welcome. This was also a study in how you can have almost the exact same object and one can be wildly successful and the other not.
Something to think about: what if the Lance Armstrong Foundation had gone with a ribbon or a button instead of a wristband? Or something different altogether? Or just a two-dimensional symbol and campaign?
Graphically, the wristbands are very appealing. Yellow is an excellent color choice because it is bold and vibrant and fits the spirit of the campaign. It has personal significance to Armstrong himself as the winner of the Tour de France. They are also stylish but not ostentatious, they’re generic enough to have wide appeal but yet they still stand out. They appeal to both genders (although I probably notice more males wearing them then females.) The bands are also easy to put on and take off and are inexpensive and fairly easy to acquire.
The slogan, which apparently serves as a two dimensional "symbol" in the form of yellow type inside a black rectangle, was also critical to the success of the wristband as revealed by the Nike manager above. It's simple, assertive, direct, motivational and empowering. It's debossed in a sans serif typeface, free of ornamentation, with the word "STRONG" in a heavier weight, like an exclamation to a sentence. This debossing is more elegant and subtle than merely having type printed on the wristband and to me is a graphic representation of inner--mental and emotional--strength. The wristband speaks loudly but doesn't shout. I once caught part of an interview with Armstrong in which I heard him describe cycling as an activity characterized by suffering; I'm not sure if LIVESTRONG would have been as successful with any other person at the helm. Although the wristband has since become a fashion accessory and spawned a legion of knockoffs, it was an effective, simple, and unique design solution.
Other successful symbols I looked at are as follows:
The Pink Triangle
Design Origin: Nazi designation for gay people in concentration camps. In the 1980s, ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) rotated the triangle 180 degrees so that it points upward, representing "active fight" over a "passive resignation to fate," as a symbol for its cause.
Comments: Striking, bold, simple image with strong formal qualities. Imbued with defiance, this symbol has a history that gives it power and meaning.
Rainbow Icon Archive - Icons for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Community
AIDS Ribbon
Design Origin: The idea came from yellow ribbons supporting American troops in the Gulf War in 1991. (Ribbons associated with promoting a cause had existed previously.) According to Frank Moore, the person who came up with the idea for the AIDS ribbon, red was chosen "for its 'connection to blood and the idea of of passion — not only anger, but love, like a valentine.'"
Awareness and implementation: The idea was adopted by Visual AIDS, an arts organization. The campaign launched at the 45th Annual Tony Awards, where ribbons were given to nominees and presenters to wear. Worn by celebrities at the Oscar and Emmy Awards.
"The Body: Where Have All the Ribbons Gone?"
Peace Symbol
Originally developed to be a symbol for a campaign on nuclear disarmament in England, it has traveled overseas and become a general worldwide symbol for peace.
Design Origin (various theories):
1. An incorporation of the semaphore letters N and D for "nuclear disarmament"
2. An abstract representation of a figure in despair
A. Upside down crucifix
B. Person with arms downward and palms open before a firing line
3. Derivation of an ancient runic symbol
Recycling
Symbol designed in 1970 by a college student as part of a contest sponsored by a recycled product maker. The designers says,
"The figure was designed as a Mobius strip to symbolize continuity within a finite entity. I used the [logo’s] arrows to give directionality to the symbol. I envisioned it with the small edge or the point of the triangle at the bottom. I wanted to suggest both the dynamic (things are changing) and the static (it’s a static equilibrium, a permanent kind of thing). The arrows, as broad as they are, draw back to the static side."
Black Power Symbol
A fist. The fist iconography is also used by other groups.
Comments:
A fist is physically powerful. As a graphic symbol, its compact, circular, and solid appearance makes it visually powerful as well. It is also immediately recognizable. Also, it can be "performed" and needs no ribbon, wristband, or button to be worn.
Socialism: Hammer and sickle
Design Origin: The hammer represents the worker and the sickle represents peasants. Together they represent unity between the two groups.
Incorporated into the flag of the Soviet Union.
Fascism: Bundle of sticks and an axe
Symbol of authority in ancient Rome.
Comments (4)
Great review of symbols Clement. I am especially fascinated by the origin of the 'LiveStrong' bracelet, and it's reapplication which has become so successful.
It's quite a challenge to come up with a symbol that manifests itself both graphically, and physically - bracelet, hand gesture (peace sign, fist), one you can make and apply yourself (ribbon). Perhaps as you mentioned, it is in part serendipidous.
Posted by lara | August 11, 2006 2:41 PM
I actually started wearing a rubber band in 1994. As a young gym rat playing basketbal everyday, I started wearing a rubber band as a symbol of playing basketball, because sometime in the early 90's some of the professional players in the NBA began wearing them. The first player I ever noticed wearing a rubber band was Charles Barkley, I remember reading an interview in a magazine where someone asked him why he wore it, and his reasoning was, that he would pop himself as a small punishment when he would make a mistake on the floor. It quickly started taking off from there and soon mostly everyone that I played with began wearing them (just normal thick tan colored rubberbands) as well as most of my favorite players in the NBA, like Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett, Tracey McGrady and so forth. Soon the NBA, or someone such as Nike started making them only for the players in their team colors. It wasn't until a year or more before the "Live Strong" yellow rubberbands hit stores that Nike actually started selling a similar type of rubber band with their shoes, and handing them out at their Nike Basketball leagues and camps, which I still have a rubber band from a summer league Nike Tournament I played in. I guess like they said they never took off past a market of basketball fans and players. Although now adays you can find them in any color of the spectrum and from myriads of countries, infact I attended a Design Confrence in San Marcos Texas last year called the "Creative Summit" where they handed out rubberbands as proof of being a part of the confrence.
Posted by Shane Guymon | August 11, 2006 6:12 PM
The LiveStrong campaign is not a traditional approach to branding a non-profit. For one, it has the obvious promotional backing and dollars of Nike to promote its cause. For another, it has a genuine and authentic figure to rally around (Lance Armstrong) - to tell its story.
Without Lance Armstrong, there is no LiveStrong bracelet. The subsequent addition to the campaign, 10//2 - the date Lance was diagnosed with Cancer, also serves to tell the Lance Armstrong story, through products like sneakers, hoodies, bike jerseys, etc.
Nike treats LiveStrong like a brand, not like a non-profit. It has highly designed websites and products that promote the cause. They all generally look alike and are consistently branded. They're inventive in how they've brought the campaigns to market.
For these reasons, arguably, LiveStrong s a more succesful branding effort than any of the others you've listed.
Posted by David Hartman | August 12, 2006 3:33 AM
The LAF certainly hasn't rested on its laurels with its wristband and has moved beyond the world of cycling and athletics. In addition to the sneakers and apparel that David mentions above is the LIVESTRONG computer. I was in a computer store in Manhattan a couple of days ago and saw this huge banner for a LIVESTRONG laptop. It's black with the yellow logo on the back of the display (below where the Apple logo would be on a Powerbook) and has Armstrong's signature to the right of the trackpad. I can see the relevance of a partnership with, say, a bicycle maker, but a branded computer left me a little puzzled.
Posted by Clement | August 17, 2006 4:42 PM