A new look is coming to APA
March 2025

APA is evolving! Building on the momentum of the 2025 National Conference theme, "Moving into the Future," we're thrilled to announce a comprehensive rebranding over the next few months, including a streamlined website (APAaccess.org), a centralized member hub, a convenient mobile app, and an updated logo.

Those who attended the National Conference at the end of January had the opportunity to preview and give their opinion on the new, redesigned APA logo. Changing the logo may have brought up some questions from some people. Questions like, why did we need to change it? Or where did the two options which were presented come from? We will try, in the following paragraphs, to give you the reasons behind the change and what it represents.

The idea of changing the logo came about for one single reason: to improve its accessibility. The lack of sufficient color contrast came to the attention of some of the membership when considering the website and comparing it to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The light blue didn’t provide a high enough contrast, and red is notorious for not providing good contrast. 

Under WCAG, logos are not required to meet the color contrast specifications. However, some felt the APA, as an organization focused on accessibility, should do its best to go beyond the minimum standard and provide sufficient color contrast, even in the logo. In addition, the logo’s colors were used as a basis for the text colors on the website to provide consistency and a unified “look.”

Another issue with the old logo was the choice of font used for the text. The font was not one that was either standard or accessible.

Once the decision was made to try to update and make the logo more accessible, APA staff and the members of the Communication Committee started to explore other color combinations for the logo. After choosing colors with more contrast, they reached out to see if any members had graphic design skills or knew someone who did. This seemed even more crucial when considering a new website was in the works.

Members and staff began working on updating the previous logo with the new color combination and making it more appealing for the updated website and marketing materials.  At the same time, a graphic designer offered to volunteer time to give another perspective on updating the logo and to help create a new logo.  

The graphic designer researched APA, interviewed members about the organization, and produced multiple logo concepts.  One concept stood out, and APA worked with the graphic designer to further develop the concept.  The logo is based on elements of the International Symbol of Accessibility but does not feature a wheelchair in the design to be more inclusive of other disabilities.  This logo is more abstract but is based on people coming together and shows a path of travel that symbolizes the built environment in which we work.

We received a lot of feedback from the survey conducted at the Annual Conference, and the results and comments were almost evenly split between the two logo designs.  The Board met at the conclusion of the Annual Conference, and the all-new logo design was chosen.  Thank you to everyone who worked on both logo designs and gave feedback to help the Board make their decision.