FIRST ...
For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology...

Refreshed by BrandLogic

The 2004 Rebranding:
This was not a change of mission or personality; it was simply a "clean-up," and as such it illustrates the power of design alone to elevate the stature and appeal of an institution. 

The old mark was conceptually fine, and the kids loved it, but it had problems  both technical (it reversed poorly) and esthetic (no design relation of symbol to wordmark; an impression of clutter). The new mark sings;  it elevates the quality of every banner, T shirt or robot it graces. BrandLogic paid special attention to creating logo variants and easy-to-use application guidelines, knowing that FIRST encourages its many-thousand participants to use its identity freely.

BrandLogic, under Wynn Medinger and program manager Hampton Bridwell, provided all design completely pro bono, including logo, visual system and guidelines.  The commercial value of this gift:  $60,000.

Credits:
Design: Fredy Jaggi, Creative Director, BrandLogic
For First: John Abele, Chair; Ken Frietas, Marketing Director
Planning: Tony Spaeth (but that's another story)

The FIRST story, in brief:
Dean Kamen is America's closest approximation, today, to Thomas Edison... a hugely successful, self-employed engineer-inventor.  Dean is best-known for the neat if quirky Segway vehicle; his considerable fortune, however, comes from such medical devices as the first wearable drug infusion pump and the first home kidney dialysis machine. (For more, see DEKA.)

In 1989 Dean was concerned that kids, especially American kids, don't get turned on by science and technology because our culture turns them on to less productive distractions, like sports.  So he set out to change our culture. He wants to make science and technology as much fun for kids as basketball or football. So he invented FIRST Robotics Competitions, which are now a very big deal indeed. In 2005 FIRST engaged 25,000 students,  in 991 teams in 30 regional competitions... teams, from Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Great Britain, and almost every U.S. state. The competitions are high-tech spectator sporting events, vibrant with the kids' passions and robust creative achievements.