"It's so much better than I thought it could be. It's like seeing new colors, or hearing new music for the first time. It's rare in life when your expectations are exceeded."
Sue Chen
CEO, Nova-Ortho Med, Inc.
President of Reef Check Board of Directors
As president of the Reef Check board of directors, I've spent a lot of time talking about our mission. As much as I know, even I've had difficulty clearly expressing who and what we are.
When Regina Rubino joined our board about a year ago, some of us were unsure of how she could help. She's not a diver. Everyone else on the board is a diver and we are passionate about what we do. We actually get to to see the beauty and splendor of a submerged — and endangered — world. A world most people will never see.
Yet in June when Regina showed us the new brand identity system her team had created for Reef Check, it was like Christmas. Although I didn't think that it could be done, Regina's messaging and imagery inspired me and lifted my motivation to another level. I feel I can be a better communicator. I can't wait to share this with the world. That's saying a lot, because I'm already incredibly inspired by what we do, and so is the board.
Reef Check is a non-profit, environmental group that was founded about 10 years ago. We do truly innovative and effective work to protect and rehabilitate coral and rocky reefs worldwide. As fellow board member Russ Lesser says, "We don't just preach, we act." Yet the ocean is a very challenging thing to communicate, unless you've been down there.
So how did Regina and her team, Emily, Christy and Danielle, none of whom dive, deliver such beautiful, inspiring images and words? They listened. To our goals, our mission, our results, our concerns and our fears. They listened with all of their senses. They pulled from their love of the ocean and the earth and the world.
From that they came up with a brand identity package that expressed what we'd been feeling all along. When you've shared all your hopes and dreams and challenges and then see such beautiful results, you realize somebody really understands me.
If we can't communicate our message to everyday people, our mission can't be realized. The IMAGE: Global Vision team has given us a clear, effective and impassioned way to touch the hearts and minds of the very young and the very old. Now all we have to do is to share it.
tbc...
