The Specify Collections Consortium (SCC) has a new logo and a new look! The logo team participated in a multi-week process to develop a new logo that meets the SCC’s evolving needs, symbolizing growth and transition. We aspired to project a professional, modern, and innovative organization, drawing from themes of community, science, data, and nature. As explained by Chris Millspaugh Design:
“The mark unifies interlocking elements into a single form, symbolizing how contributors and data integrate into a cohesive network.
A circular foundation represents the Earth and its layered structure - conveying global reach, inclusivity, and the depth of the platform’s infrastructure.
Branching forms, inspired by the tree of life and phylogenetic diagrams express growth, knowledge, and an evolving lineage.
The muted and organic hues feel mature and enduring and are associated with nature, growth, and grounded systems”
The new identity reflects our evolving software capabilities and our growing engagement across a wider range of disciplines, while maintaining our commitment to producing a flexible, robust, open‑source platform for managing biological and geological collections and cultivating a vibrant, interconnected collections community. It carries with it our renewed commitment to strengthening documentation, increasing transparency, and ensuring accountability to the members who make our work possible.
The new identity and colors are woven throughout Specify and the Speciforum starting today and are key to our adherence to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) at an AA level for both the Specify application and our new specifysoftware.org website. Members can see the updates to the application as of Specify 7.12, and now on the Speciforum and the new site.
As we share this new look with you, we’re also sharing the momentum behind it, the energy, clarity, and purpose that have shaped the SCC’s recent progress. We are proud of our forward momentum, and grateful to have you with us as we continue building a stronger, more responsive Consortium.
Here’s to the next chapter, and the many innovations still ahead.