A Collaborative Journey to a New RCAP Brand
As the holiday season and end of the year slow down approaches for many, I often use this time to reflect and bring gratitude to the good things that have come our way over this past year. One of the biggest projects we have taken on over the past two years is now coming to an end as RCAP launches an updated brand and website (and you are on it right now!). As a result – we have a new look and feel. This wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing RCAP family and the community that supports the work that we do to improve quality of life in rural America starting at the tap.
We are thrilled about the fruits of a deep-dive journey and process that began when I first started at RCAP. We collaboratively made the decision to prioritize a rebranding effort at RCAP, understanding that it would be a big undertaking that would require engagement throughout the process. It was an opportunity for the organization to rise to the moment, and its own evolution. Building from its historic legacy as a trusted partner in supporting access to safe drinking water and wastewater treatment in small rural and tribal communities across the country, to a trusted community partner with a national voice and presence serving and advocating for needs of rural communities holistically.
Over the course of two years, we embarked on a process that involved an in-person retreat, surveys, focus groups, in-depth conversations with our team, regional partners and external stakeholders working at all levels, and across all regions of the country. We listened, reflected and brought forth an identity that we believe better represents who we are now and looking ahead.
To make this vision a reality, we engaged Misfit – an incredibly talented creative agency to help develop our new logo and website. They work with organizations of all shapes and sizes and were critical in aligning our goals and growth with a new, integrated visual identity.
In their words, “The new RCAP typography is classic and accessible and speaks to the historic nature of RCAP as an organization that has been relied upon at a local and national level to empower the communities it serves. The iconography represents growth in its evocation of a horizon – RCAP is always evolving itself, always pushing to be better. It is also a combination of many things – it wears many hats for the many communities it serves, and so the layering of the colors and shapes show this interplay between different worlds. The mark is also reminiscent of a valley and hillside, representing a sturdy steadfastness; an organization that is mature and wise, and yet knows there is further evolution to come. The colors are almost primary colors, which show a foundational rootedness in history. The interplay of green and blue also shows the founding principles of RCAP in helping communities with access to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater disposal.”
This is not a new RCAP, just an updated reflection of the organization and the work we do. There was certainly a lot of work to be done in this effort, but it was also clear that there was a strong foundation to build from. For an organization that has been around for close to 50 years, RCAP’s new brand has the power and potential to energize and bring us together around a common purpose of elevating the voices and needs of rural America like never before. Yet just as it took our RCAP community to develop this new look and feel, it will take an inclusive, community-centered effort to realize the vision we have laid before us.
Your voice was incredibly important as a part of this, and we hope you will see those thoughts and ideas reflected in our work and our goals. Please engage with us throughout this launch and beyond, and know that you are the very thing that makes this work, and this organization, special.
As most rebranding efforts and new websites go, this is not a static process. We hope to continuously iterate and improve what we share, how we share it in service to the work we do and the rural communities we support. For right now, this launch would be incomplete without expressing gratitude to our community for journeying with us now and in the days, week, and months ahead.