Professional Photographers of America (PPA) is a nonprofit photography association serving professional photographers. The organization was formed in April 1880 as the Photographers Association of America and adopted its current name in 1958.[1] PPA’s visual identity has undergone several significant changes, most recently in 2020 when the association introduced a new logo and website.
Design and History
In early 2020, PPA unveiled a brand-new logo alongside a redesigned website.[2] The organization described the new mark as bringing “the first changes to the logo since 2008 and the biggest overhaul since 2003.”[2] To select the new design, PPA hired several graphic designers to present proposals, which were narrowed to four finalists judged against seven key criteria: functionality, neutral brand equity, justified alignment options, versatile printing and reproduction, defensibility for trademarking, simplicity, and reflection of who PPA is today.[2]
The 2020 redesign was intended to feel “more sleek and modern” while retaining traditional elements of the previous brand identity, notably the color red.[3] PPA’s marketing director noted that the organization does not change branding “for trends or fads” and that the shift reflected changing membership demographics and a desire for “a more modern, minimalist, and more inviting brand identity.”[2] The association later confirmed in its 2020 year-in-review that it had “adopted a more modern logo that better reflects the organization.”[4]
A trademark application for the PPA mark, filed in December 2021, provides a detailed description of the current logo’s construction: “A square consisting of three solid lines and the fourth (left) side of the square being incomplete. The gap in the left side of the square is filled by the letters PPA arranged horizontally such that the first P is outside the square.”[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
PPA has explicitly documented the symbolism of its 2020 logo. The organization stated that the “open box around the three letters” is “meant as a reference to print photography and the open community that our organization represents.”[3] The red color was carried over from the previous brand identity as a traditional feature PPA wanted to uphold.[3]
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