[okfn-advisory] Open Knowledge brand and website

Thu May 8 22:18:45 UTC 2014

I have already expressed my views that the tag line gives a misleading idea
of what the OKF already is and does. I'd prefer a line something like:

"A community to make knowledge open and useful"

I am not keen on "data" - we are only very peripherally a data organisation
- our *community* is much more important, approaches to GLAM, the practice
of open science, bottom-up democracy, advocacy, etc.

And I also commented that it would have been appropriate to consult the
advisory council *before* rebranding - as it is we look like an unnecessary
appendage - there's a new logo , and new name, a new tagline - and we have
little role other than to legitimise them - it doesn't seem we can do
anything else.

P.

On Thu, May 8, 2014 at 6:52 PM, Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:

> All,
>
> As some of you will know, we've had lots of discussion around the new
> brand in the last few weeks, especially the tagline, which some folks feel
> is too data-centric, or not enough about people, or not specific enough to
> our work.
>
> In response we've opened this up for more community input, and so far there’s
> not been a clear consensus on a good alternative tagline yet, so we’re
> going to continue to use
>
> *"Open Knowledge: see how data can change the world" *for now.
>
>
> We’d like to continue seeking a better alternative though! There’s some
> notes on what a tagline needs to do, and a list of alternative ideas on the
> wiki:
> http://wiki.okfn.org/About_the_Open_Knowledge_brand/tagline_discussion It
> would be great to see some further exploration of the options there, and to
> gather other new ideas for the tagline too. In a few weeks, when everyone’s
> had a bit more time to reflect, we’ll come back to the list on the wiki and
> work out a shortlist.
>
>
> It would be great to get ideas from Advisory Council members on this. It's
> difficult to capture all the variety and diversity of Open Knowledge in
> just a few words, which make sense and are interesting and compelling to
> people encountering us for the first time, and your thoughts would be
> really valuable.
>
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Laura
>
>
> On 11 April 2014 15:25, Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:
>
>>
>> *All,  As many of you know, we're refreshing our brand, and as part of
>> this we will be launching a new Open Knowledge website with our new brand
>> next week.  *
>>
>>
>>    - We’re improving things to help Open Knowledge reach more people -
>>    particularly communities who aren't involved in the open movement today
>>    - Name change: from ‘Open Knowledge Foundation’ to ‘Open Knowledge’
>>    - New logo and better support for network use of the logo
>>    - Words change: we have a new way of talking about ourselves, to make
>>    sure new people to Open can understand what we’re doing and why
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Our network has been involved in the brand development process
>> especially in the early stages as we explored what open knowledge meant to
>> us all, and over the last weeks we've been sharing the results with them
>> through local group and working group coordinators.  We've also got a wiki
>> page with all the
>> information: http://wiki.okfn.org/About_the_Open_Knowledge_brand
>> <http://wiki.okfn.org/About_the_Open_Knowledge_brand> which we'll update as
>> more materials etc become available. Of course news of the rebrand is
>> already getting out...  Although as expected there are some negative
>> responses (no brand narrative or visuals will please all of our diverse
>> network!), we've also had some really strong buy in from community leaders,
>> such as: "I really like it!  :)   While my own approach to Open Knowledge
>> is less data-centric than most, this logo leaves itself open (as it
>> were) to enough interpretation to remain a great exemplar of Open Knowledge
>> in all its forms. And I am very pleased, even relieved, to see the round O
>> form so boldly embraced.  I'm sure the process was challenging, but I know
>> I'll be proud to use it."  -- from our Ambassador in the US. The main
>> okfn.org <http://okfn.org> website will update next week (this has been a
>> priority because this site hasn't done a great job of explaining open
>> knowledge for some time and gets a lot of criticism), and we'll gradually
>> update other things (email sigs, business cards, letterhead etc) in the
>> coming weeks. We are also very aware of community use of the brand,
>> and will of course allow community use of the logo just as we have done
>> with the old logo, but we hope that by providing stronger templates and
>> tools we can all benefit from greater consistency in our brand than in the
>> past.  We will be creating templates and assets and sharing these with the
>> network as soon as we can, so we can benefit from a shared strong brand
>> that says who we are and what we do, and helps us create more impact
>> through open knowledge. Do let us know if you have any questions or
>> concerns. Our new Communications Officer, Susanne Kendler, has a plan for
>> how we'll handle feedback about the brand, and our Network Director, Naomi
>> Lillie, is supporting with communications with our local groups and working
>> groups. They are both CCd here.  Best regards,Laura--  Dr Laura James CEO
>> skype: laura.james  |  @LaurieJ <http://twitter.com/LaurieJ> Open Knowledge
>> <http://okfn.org/>    -    See how data can change the world
>> http://okfn.org/ <http://okfn.org/>  |  @okfn <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |
>>  Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>  |  Blog
>> <http://blog.okfn.org/>   <http://okfn.org/about/newsletter> The Open
>> Knowledge Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation.  It is incorporated
>> in England & Wales as a company limited by guarantee, with company number
>> 05133759.  VAT Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open
>> Knowledge Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge,
>> CB4 0WS, UK.   *
>>
>>
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> * Dr Laura James CEO   *
>
> *skype: laura.james  |  *@LaurieJ <http://twitter.com/LaurieJ>
>
>
>
>
>
> * Open Knowledge <http://okfn.org/>    -    See how data can change the
> world http://okfn.org/ <http://okfn.org/>  |  @okfn
> <http://twitter.com/OKFN>  |  Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/OKFNetwork>  |  Blog <http://blog.okfn.org/>
> <http://okfn.org/about/newsletter> The Open Knowledge Foundation is a
> not-for-profit organisation.  It is incorporated in England & Wales as a
> company limited by guarantee, with company number 05133759.  VAT
> Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office address: Open Knowledge
> Foundation, St John’s Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4 0WS,
> UK.   *
>
>
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-- 
Peter Murray-Rust
Reader in Molecular Informatics
Unilever Centre, Dep. Of Chemistry
University of Cambridge
CB2 1EW, UK
+44-1223-763069
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