Pentagram’s Michael Bierut Refreshes and Unifies Visual Identity
Creative Partner AREA 17 Helps Revamp Online Presence of World’s Largest Membership for Professional Learning and Expertise
New York, New York — Gerson Lehrman Group, Inc. (GLG) today launched a new logo and website, refreshing the company’s visual identity and unifying its online presence at GLG.it. This visual overhaul is the first in many years for the world’s largest membership for professional learning and expertise. The new logo and web address emphasize the name the firm and its clients have come to use: GLG. Renowned graphic designer Michael Bierut of Pentagram designed the logo; interactive agency AREA 17 partnered with GLG to create the site.
“Our mission is to transform the way top professionals share expertise, learn, and make decisions,” said GLG President and CEO Alexander Saint-Amand. “We believe the opportunity to scale one-to-one learning among top professionals is enormous, and our new site is designed to convey both the simplicity and the breadth of this opportunity.”
GLG was founded in 1998 to serve professionals who needed perspective that couldn’t be found in one-size-fits-all industry reports. It began connecting its clients with smart people who had firsthand expertise or operational experience. Today GLG serves the world’s leading investors, entrepreneurs, corporations, consulting firms, and nonprofits. Its teaching members include 375,000 policy specialists, academics, engineers, former C-level managers, and professional leaders. GLG pairs its members thousands of times a week, around the world. Among some users, GLG has become so essential that the phrase “GLG it” is synonymous with “Let’s learn more.”
Bierut, a partner at Pentagram, is among the most prominent and decorated graphic designers of his generation. He has helped define many of the world’s leading brands, including Citi, Saks, and the Walt Disney Company; institutions, such as the MIT Media Lab, Princeton University, and the Yale School of Architecture; and publications, including The Atlantic, New York Magazine, and The New York Times.
Bierut explained, “For me, this project can be summed up in one of my favorite quotes, attributed to Dolly Parton: ‘Find out who you are, and do it on purpose.’ GLG has been doing something essential and amazing for 15 years. There’s a sense of heritage here, but it feels very forward-looking. That’s what we wanted to capture in GLG’s brand system, and I think we accomplished that.”
The new website at GLG.it remodels GLG’s online presence. The design emphasizes the simplicity of GLG’s mission. Creative partner AREA 17 has worked with clients throughout the world, including The Atlantic, Billboard, Facebook, and The Webby Awards. Partner Kemp Attwood said of the project, “We set out to help GLG build a website that reflects who they are and where they’re going. The new site is aspirational, straightforward and simple, transparent, and celebrates the joys of continuous learning and discourse.”
Jennifer Van Ness, GLG’s Head of Marketing, oversaw the brand development and worked with Will Ballard, GLG Chief Technology Officer, on the website. Van Ness recently joined GLG, bringing her expertise in consumer marketing and branding to the firm’s business-to-business enterprise. She previously held senior management roles at Colgate-Palmolive and Diageo. She said, “Just as we try to find the best expertise for our clients, we identified Michael Bierut, a true global leader and expert in brand identity. And for our site we worked with AREA 17, a firm much like GLG – in its second decade and with a proven record of success, yet continuing to innovate and disrupt.”
GLG’s visual and online overhaul will be followed by a major facilities upgrade. In mid-2014, GLG will move its global headquarters to an innovative and collaborative new space at One Grand Central Place in Manhattan. Maverick architect Clive Wilkinson designed the new office with GLG. His previous work includes the Googleplex in Silicon Valley, TBWAChiatDay’s headquarters in Los Angeles, and the Barbarian Group’s new office in Manhattan.
The website launched in English; French and Mandarin will soon follow, with further languages later. It is now live at GLG.it.
About Gerson Lehrman Group / GLG
GLG is transforming the way the world’s top professionals share expertise and learn. GLG curates custom learning experiences among professionals and thought leaders across fields, within a rigorous compliance framework. GLG promotes knowledge exchange through conversations, small group convenings, mentorships, surveys, and other interactions with its network of more than 375,000 experts. Global, technology-driven, and nimble, GLG’s 850 employees work in 21 offices in 12 countries. To find out more, visit www.GLG.it and follow @GLG.
Contact: press@glg.it