IBM Be Equal

Working from the existing Be Equal identity (designed to support gender equality) our job was to explore how the brand could evolve to represent a broader spectrum of constituencies. The new identity enlists the iconic bumblebee from Paul Rand’s 1981 rebus as an instantly recognizable signifier of all things diversity, equity, and inclusion at IBM. Using a variety of stacked color bands (all divisible by eight) to create dynamic compositions, the system and primary mark can adapt to represent any group. The old Be Equal identity used only blue, black, and white, so we brought in a wide spectrum of colors from the IBM palette, resulting in a system capable of celebrating deeper diversity. Wordplay and real voices also play a starring role. We created ample opportunities for IBMers to speak for themselves, building empathy and identification at a human level. Our hope is that by building a brand for the people and by the people, we’ve set up Be Equal to capture the evolving spirit of equality at IBM for another 100 years.

We began by defining the three building blocks of the Be Equal brand platform: People, Practices, and Partners. Recontextualizing Be Equal from a campaign focused on gender equality to an all-encompassing engine of diversity and inclusion within IBM, we helped shift its status from an internal initiative to a mainstream movement, and redefine its aim from increasing awareness to driving activity. This strategic groundwork led to a new Brand Promise statement: “Be Equal is an endeavor to expand, enable, and ensure equality for everyone.”

The central challenge at the heart of this project was: how can we create an open system for Be Equal that amplifies the many voices, perspectives, identities, and experiences of IBMers, while promoting authentic allyship throughout the organization and beyond? Based on extensive conversations and workshops with the Be Equal team and the heads of IBM’s global Business Resource Groups (or, BRGs), we discovered the extent to which diversity lives in the company’s DNA. We uncovered a century’s worth of stories we could draw upon, from the early hiring of Black, female, and disabled talent, to the development of technologies like the pocket-sized braille printer, to the company’s recent support for the passage of the Equality Act. But we knew Be Equal was not about celebrating past achievements, but rather building something powerful for the present and future.