A look back on the event to unveil the Institut Pasteur's new identity

On May 15, a huge number of you came along to the special event in the CIS to unveil the Institut Pasteur's brand platform and new identity. This was an important moment in the life of the Institut Pasteur.
 
More than 500 staff members were there in person or online to listen to presentations from the various people involved in the large-scale project to develop the Institut Pasteur's brand platform and the visual implementation of this new identity, resulting in a new graphic standard.

We need a clear, modern, ambitious identity that enables us to look to the future

This was how the Institut Pasteur President, Yasmine Belkaid, introduced this special event. She particularly highlighted the successful completion of an essential project that involved a concerted effort drawing on the expertise of many representatives from the Institut Pasteur. The new identity is a cornerstone of the Pasteur 2030 Strategic Plan. It gives the Institut Pasteur a strong, modern image that it can convey to the outside world, including the public, donors and the French government. Yasmine Belkaid mentioned several times how important it is to have "an identity that can enable us to look to the future."

 

Pour chaque vie, la science agit *

Henri Pitron, Vice-President Communications and Public Affairs, and Charlyne Burban, Head of the Brand Division within the Department of Communications and Public Affairs, then took to the floor together to present the timeline and methodology adopted over the past year to introduce the brand platform and the new visual identity.

In turn, they presented the co-development strategy for the brand platform and the specific challenges related to the Institut Pasteur brand. They then spoke in more detail about the different components of the brand platform – which encompasses several concepts including the vision, mission, values and personality traits of the institution – before revealing the Institut Pasteur's new slogan, which brings all these concepts together: "Pour chaque vie, la science agit.* "

The new visual identity, based closely on the brand platform and designed to be adaptable for different uses, was then presented from various angles, highlighting the graphics, images, colors, typography and pictorial aspects. The Institut Pasteur's new visual identity also includes the long-awaited new Institut Pasteur logo. The new logo is deliberately similar to previous logotypes but is visually lighter. The Greek letter Phi now resembles a ribbon, a strong symbol associated with solidarity and fundraising. Henri Pitron and Charlyne Burban concluded their presentation by speaking about the brand architecture, showing a special film produced exclusively for the campus to mark the unveiling of the new identity, which generated great enthusiasm and excitement.

 
 

Over and above external concerns, this new identity needs to unite us as a community.

 

It is important that we maintain a team spirit and work together, especially during these troubled
times.

 

The floor was then given to Arnaud Fontanet, Head of the Epidemiology of Emerging Diseases Unit, and Olivier Schwartz, Head of the Virus and Immunity Unit, who both spoke in their capacity as Institut Pasteur staff, scientists and members of the strategic committee for the development of the brand platform. They shared their respective experiences on this collective journey, and gave a sense of what the platform means for science at the Institut Pasteur. "We are proud to be Pasteurians, and proud to have contributed to this internal process of reflection about our values and our personality as an institution." They emphasized the need to "boost our visibility in many areas," and explained that "the development of a brand platform and identity enables us to build up a constellation around the Institut Pasteur." They also pointed to the resonance between "science" and "life," two of the key terms in the Institut Pasteur's slogan, and described how important this is for them as scientists. They rounded off their presentation by each choosing values which are particularly to close to their heart and which they feel represent them in their daily work and lives. Arnaud Fontanet underscored how "as a public health scientist, solidarity is central to my profession. Public health involves working to improve health for populations and tackling inequalities, and that is perfectly summed up by the value of solidarity." Olivier Schwartz chose to emphasize "the creative side and the freedom that the Institut Pasteur gives its scientists to explore new dimensions on the basis of previously acquired knowledge."

 
Everything in the Institut Pasteur's mission embodies and resonates with the common good

The members of the strategy and brand identity agencies, The Good Design and The Good Company, which supported the Institut Pasteur in its work developing the brand platform and new identity, were then invited to speak. In turn, Angelina Menit, President, Nina Kurose, Strategy Director, and Martin Caro-Lassalle, Creative Director, shared their pleasure and pride at working alongside the Institut Pasteur's teams on a large-scale project that perfectly reflected the values that their agencies seek to uphold when working in collaboration. "Using our expertise to serve the common good is crucial [...] We wanted to highlight what you are, and what the general public is not aware of." They described how the collective efforts and commitment of Institut Pasteur staff were key in developing the brand platform and the related visual identity.

 
Watch the event unveiling the new identity
 
Following these presentations, which gave rise to several questions, both from those attending in person and via the Zoom chat, and led to lively discussions, Institut Pasteur staff were invited to meet and interact with several teams at various stands installed in the CIS halls. The idea behind the second part of the event was to encourage staff to explore and embrace the new identity and get to know those involved in developing it.

 

The stands offered information, activities and an opportunity to chat about the nine values and nine personality traits that are a key part of the Institut Pasteur's brand platform, as well as the new graphics and images that you can now find on your internal and external communication materials. For these activities, the teams in the Department of Communications and Public Affairs were supported by staff from the Human Resources Department – the HR Development Department and the HR Communication and Employer Brand Department – to help employees identify with these values in their daily tasks and work together more effectively. Staff from the picture library in the Scientific Information Resources Center (CeRIS) were also on hand to present its work and organizational structure and explain about the image search methods used within the Institut Pasteur's image bank. Interactive activities were also arranged at the stands. One involved attaching a sticker displaying one of the values to a mirror and adding a short personal message. Another was a challenge in which staff were asked to look at communication resources (posters, brochures, etc.) produced according to the new graphic standard and spot the differences compared with the old standard – a practical way for them to familiarize themselves with the new Institut Pasteur identity.

 
The event also featured a demonstration stand showing staff how to find all the new communication tools via the ePasteur intranet. The internal communication team guided staff as they browsed the intranet to find the various tools available: the new logo, new email signature, slide kit for PowerPoint presentations, business cards, compliment slips and headed paper. An article about the new tools is available in this issue of the newsletter: click here.

We couldn't let the event go by without giving the Institut Pasteur staff who came along a surprise gift created for the occasion. A thousand black and white mugs featuring the new logo and identity presented at the event were distributed throughout the afternoon. These proved to be a resounding success and helped to stir people's curiosity about the new identity!

A fun activity that was guaranteed to generate smiles and laughter was also organized in the temporary reconstruction of the Salle des Actes in CIS hall 2.

Many of you came to enjoy the photo call and agreed to have your photo taken in the photo booth kitted out specially with the new graphic standard.

 
Check out the portrait gallery from the event on May 15
 
A special cocktail in the colors of the new graphic standard was served to give the event a unique culinary angle – a tasty and creative touch that was much appreciated by the staff who came along!
 
The Department of Communications and Public Affairs would like to thank all those who came along to see the Institut Pasteur's new brand platform and identity and helped make this special event a real highlight of the Pasteurian calendar!

* English version soon available

Photos : François Gardy/Institut Pasteur