worlwide reactions to "change LOGO and VISUAL IDENTITY of Mensa ?!"

worldwide exchange before was realized the english dubbing Film “a new communication for Mensa France!”

Hello, yesterday I organized a consultative presentation about what should be "a new communication Mensa France!" (video will be online within 15 days).
Last year, I analyzed web sites of all Mensa that exist in the world and none were professional.
For people supposedly intelligent, web sites are not ;p)
A student in communication would be critical.

Therefore it would make sense that communication professionals study the problem.
I recommend to :
- change the logo AND includes graphic elements of Mensa founding values:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logo#Internet_Compatible_Logos
- create a real Visual identity wich would EITHER includes graphic elements of Mensa founding values OR graphic expression of intelligence http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_identity#Visual_identity

WHAT DO YOU THING ABOUT IT ?!
Summarize Mensa in ONE / A SINGLE word and THEN find it in The Logo
You can also publish it here ; I vote for : INTELLIGENCE

Alison BR • "Last year, I analyzed web sites of all Mensa that exist in the world and none were professional"
Indeed, most of them are volunteer. You get what you pay for.
I see no need to change the Name and Logo of Mensa. I find it very symbolic of what we strive to be - the "World" around the table using their Mens - minds.


Wolf SC • Yeah - I would certainly HOPE for these sites to be interesting and functional - but not to be professional. What a waste of money that would be.


Jim K. • During the 44+ years I've been a member of American Mensa, several efforts were launched trying to understand why so few of the potentially eligible people even bothered to join and why so many left after just one year. If a single prime conclusion can be drawn from those efforts (and I know this will be controversial) it would be this: ranking in the top 2% on a test of intelligence is simply not a sufficient commonality to bring people together and make them want to associate. Where it not for the invention of SIGs, it is likely that Mensa would have died out.

The people who measure intelligence have still not come to agreement on what that is or what is being measured, The tests, in accord with testing theory, are both valid and reliable but that isn't enough to define what is being measured or even if it's one thing or multiple things.

My own experiences in Mensa cover the Los Angeles local group (for only a few years) and Metropolitan Washington Mensa for a good many years including some appointed and elective offices. There was also a couple of years participating in Norway Mensa in Oslo where I was made to feel most welcome.

Beyond the American studies, I do not have a broad enough view to generalize further.

Any project to create an integrated face and message out of Mensa would first require that there be an integrated view of what Mensa is and does held by a large majority of members. This I fear you will never get. None of the attempts I know of have come anywhere close.


Dominick CA • @Jim, great point regarding an integrated face and message from Mensa. Not too long ago I sponsored a thread about the possible responsibility that we as Mensans may or may not have to society to do something other than games and meetings. I found the answers to be solidly on the side of not attempting any coordinated effort to do anything as a group no matter how small. It illustrated to me that Mensa probably will never move forward as an organization, but perhaps in fits and starts by certain sigs. A new logo, absolutely, but how to create such a thing when there is neither a coordinated effort by Mensans to be or do any one thing, nor is there likely to be? In retail the answer is to ask "what is," as in what is a BMW; Ultimate Driving Machine- what is Walmart; selection and price - what is a Rolex; class, quality, value - what is Mensa; ....good luck with that one. One word; Able


Jim K. • Dominick, in keeping with my tendency to be blunt and controversial, I would have to say that, based on my experience in American Mensa, including a number of regional and national gatherings, a very large percentage of members seem something very different from 'able.' We have quite a lot of members who are spectacularly under achieving social misfits. Some of them will say I'm one of those too but I leave that for others to evaluate.

Jim K. • As for professional/volunteer, those are not orthogonal choices. Mensa certainly has members who are professional web designers who would be happy to volunteer for the chance to have their work showcased by Mensa.


Alison BR • From what I know about our local group and its experience with webmasters, the optimistic view Jim takes is not born out by reality. (And it parallels my experience with Mensa Austria) . Local websites will languish for months (even years) without any attention. Volunteer webmasters do what they want - indeed the site must be given to them as their playfield in order that they do anything at all. The ugly site we now have, although after more than a year of pleading we finally got minimum functionality for ALL users, is so uninviting that it is rarely visited by members (I know, I try to post event notices, which sometimes take and mostly don't). One member I know cannot register and the Webmaster seems to have done nothing about it. However, we have no other choice. No one else has come forth to make an improvement, even though I know that the discomfort with the situation is not unknown to many members (although it may not be publicly discussed so as not to hurt the sensitive webmaster feelings).
However, this all diverges from the initial question of changing the Mensa Logo.

Alison BR • I was not allowed to edit the forgoing - I wanted to include that the American Mensa Ltd. website is run professionally with a staff that is on the job M-F. I am not dissatisfied with it.


Fabien Balli • Damien, thanks for your proposal.

I agree that the logo is not representative of the association, whose vision is nor clear neither shared by its members. Starting on visual identity could be one way to work on common definition of the aim of Mensa.

A friend of mine said the M with sharp corners looks like a seizure of something... they are a lot of interpretations.

Jim's suggestion about involving members with professional skills is certainly a way to improve the services quality. I also agree that the greatest challenge for mensans is to develop one's emotional intelligence. Cooperation is the key of a high performance.


Jim K. • How many people here know this process has been done before? The problem with arriving at a common identity for Mensa is that so many people cluster around different identities. The is no common identity.

Now if a way could be found to identify several major identities and then merge them into a single logo...

But I'm not very optimistic about this as I remember how contentious the last attempt was.

As to emotional intelligence, is that to become a new part of the admission requirements? Is it a concept sufficiently studied to be measurable with a standardized test?


Kurt SA • Hi - This is an interesting discussion thread. Realizing fully that one point does not a trend make, I want to share that my most positive and vivid memories of Mensa came from before I joined.

When I was in High School (in the US), our city's Mensa chapter held monthly luncheons. I was able to get to most of these, and found the camaraderie to be enthralling. But leaders come and leaders go, and the chapter chair who ran that left in a flurry of politics that I know nothing about, and the spark was gone.

Some years later, I got around to joining as a Life Member based on that first experience, but honestly I've done almost nothing with Mensa in the years since. If I'd not joined as a Life Member, I probably would have dropped out long ago, but not due to the logo or tagline.

Best regards from Tokyo,
Kurt SA


Alison BR • Indeed, the charm of Mensa is not the logo or any slogan, it is the people one meets.

Mensa Tokyo undoubtedly has a number of members, as a life member of the organisation you are sure to be welcomed at any of their events or could even invite a few members around for tea and games.
http://www.japanmensa.jp/ <http://www.japanmensa.jp/>

Alison BR
CIM SIGHT Coordinator
Carmel, Indiana


Don TU, MBA, MS, CISSP • Mensa as a logo has already achieved its goal of being recognizable, so Mensa would create avoidable expense to change its logo.

To me, the qualities associated with Mensa as it is on good days tend toward the following.
• Social Events.
• Engaging Conversations. 


I am biased toward thinking of quality assurance as both a cost effective and perpetual task. What if the real issue is projecting a sense excellence to present the Mensa organization in a good way?

• One can look at setting "look and feel" standards to Mensa materials, websites. This can assist volunteers in their work and address the localization needs of a globally scoped organization.

• One can also look at sharing best practices in event coordination and flow. It is better to use a brilliant process than to frustrate brilliance with ineffective processes.


Damien SE • @ Alison BR: "most of them are volunteer. You get what you pay for”
=> I was they told that we are smarter than 98% of population, unless I misunderstood ; so we could do better (that we do)

=>If I summarize Mensa in 3 words (one can find others if more relevant):
* intelligence: NO GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION, choose yours: http://www.google.fr/images?um=1&hl=fr&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=intelligence&btnG=Rechercher&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

* sharing: NO CLEAR GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION (around a table people do many thing and not only share ; at best ½ point), choose yours: http://www.google.fr/images?q=sharing&um=1&hl=fr&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=2

* international : A PLANET / one point for the symbol, event it should be redesigned, choose yours: http://www.google.fr/images?hl=fr&q=international&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

Neither any graphic demonstration about Mensa’s missions:
* "to IDENTIFY and to FOSTER HUMAN INTELLIGENCE for the BENEFIT OF HUMANITY”

* “to ENCOURAGE RESEARCH into the nature, characteristics, and uses of INTELLIGENCE” and

- “to PROVIDE a STIMULATING INTELLECTUAL and SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT for ITS MEMBERS".


Damien SE • And finally… Victor Serebriakoff http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Serebriakoff regretted that Mensa became a gathering of puzzle players… even no puzzle in the logotype ;p) choose yours: http://www.google.fr/images?um=1&hl=fr&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=puzzle&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=


@Wolf SC:
=> why spend money?


@Jim Ka: “to create an integrated face and message out of Mensa would first require that there be an integrated view of what Mensa is and does held by a large majority of members. This I fear you will never get. None of the attempts I know of have come anywhere close.”
=> You’re right. I understand and… believe in figures and methodology to express.. if not what Mensa is supposed to be, at least what Mensa is


Damien SE • @Dominick CA: “Not too long ago I sponsored a thread about the possible responsibility that we as Mensans may or may not have to society to do something other than games and meetings. I found the answers to be solidly on the side of not attempting any coordinated effort to do anything as a group no matter how small. It illustrated to me that Mensa probably will never move forward as an organization, but perhaps in fits and starts by certain sigs.”
=> Mensan are “only” high IQ people… without any guarantee that they are people with a high level of consciousness

“there is neither a coordinated effort by Mensans to be or do any one thing, nor is there likely to be”
=> nothing is ever final


@Jim Ka: “Mensa certainly has members who are professional web designers who would be happy to volunteer for the chance to have their work showcased by Mensa”
=> right !


Damien SE • @Alison BR: "From what I know about our local group and its experience with webmasters... (And it parallels my experience with Mensa Austria) . Local websites will languish for months (even years) without any attention. Volunteer webmasters do what they want - indeed the site must be given to them as their playfield in order that they do anything at all..."
=> this behavior is not specific to Mensa. I's a systemic behavior announced on any free Internet forum (part concerning Administrators passwords)
It is to every country Mensa leaders (I mean president) to be wise and not gullible.


@Fabien Balli: "Damien, thanks for your proposal... logo is not representative of the association, whose vision is nor clear neither shared by its members. Starting on visual identity could be one way to work on common definition of the aim of Mensa. ... the greatest challenge for mensans is to develop one's emotional intelligence. Cooperation is the key of a high performance."
=> right ; this requires sleeves rolled up and not nice speakers (to be polite


@Jim Kay: a way could be found to identify several major identities and then merge them into a single logo...
=> thanks for constructive start.. main characteristic of a logotype is : illustrate values of the organization it represents.


Damien SE • @Alison BR: "the charm of Mensa is not the logo or any slogan, it is the people one meets."
=> as i any other experience, project or adventure everything passes, only the memory of people remains


@Don TU ""the real issue is projecting a sense excellence to present the Mensa organization in a good way? "
=> right !

"One can also look at sharing best practices in event coordination and flow. It is better to use a brilliant process than to frustrate brilliance with ineffective processes"
=> right : methods and not theories

For all these reasons, last month, I hold conference in Paris (illustrating most we’ve developed in this topic) and made a film from it .
As Mensans from Belgium saw it + said they have similars problems in their country… it's now available also with English dubbing => https://mscollaboratif.forumgratuit.org

Feel free to publish the links "on your Mensa communication tools", especially if the content can be useful


Jim K. • @Damien: Last year, I analyzed web sites of all Mensa that exist in the world and none were professional.
=> Did you by any chance look at the web site of Chicago Mensa? Just about everything they do in Chicago is the very BEST of Mensa. Competing with them was always discouraging.

@Damien: And finally… Victor Serebriakoff...regretted...
=> Founders often discover their organizational creations move off in directions other than the founder intended. It's why so many startup businesses have to shunt their founders aside in order to survive and grow. Businesses are social organizations and social organizations are businesses. The issue is the same.

Damien SE • @Jim: “Founders often discover their organizational creations move off in directions other than the founder intended. It's why so many startup businesses have to shunt their founders aside in order to survive and grow” =>
Concerning what I previously explained about Mensa: I see the attempt to survive but not sign of grow!
If one day, we proudly tell to some grandchildren: you know, when we were young Mensan, we played puzzles.
What would the child reply apart: but GrandPa, that’s what you’re always doing!

Recently I went at a Mensa social game afternoon (organized by 25 to 45 years old M’s) and beyond all that, I mainly saw: http://www.info-senior.com/local/cache-vignettes/L400xH270/arton466-ff37b.jpg
If we are "whole live along" provided with a powerful Macintosh or Dell computer, it’s obviously for more useful purposes than to plays cards or Solitaire game otherwise, intelligence is not a gift but a Mother Nature’s mistake!
But that is only my deep opinion and end of digression concerning Mensa’s vision and let’s go back to communication where I try to give a professional vision and as neutral opinion as possible.

=> I analyzed “national” web sites. So thanks for the recommendation: will put a look on Chicago Mensa’s one.


Bruce HO • I think, Damien, that it is too bad that you were not around at the founding of Mensa. you may well have been able to design a better logo. But that was then, and now is now. now doing so would be counterproductive because the Mensa logo is a trademark. Trademarks acquire value through use over time. The Mensa logo has acquired great value over time. That is not something that one simply throws into the trash.


Damien SE • @Bruce HO, I understand what you mean.
I like Mensa a lot. I’m paying attention to this because follow my heart.
No body wants to put throws anything into the trash otherwhise you didn't read my arguments
I’m speaking about EVOLUTION :



Bruce HO • @Damien: Ahh, evolution of the logo; now I get it. "Evolving" the logo to conserve its current value as part of our trademark while modernizing just might work. Thank you for the clarification. (Just FYI, the Wikipedia links in your original posting would appear to undermine your argument in a way, given that those links speak to the value of a trademark accumulated over a long period of time. It takes the additional "evolution" argument to make the case, in my opinion.)

New COMPLEMENTARY comments and ADVICES ; published very soon !