Category
Space Science
Education
Advocacy
Public Engagement
Services
Brand Strategy
Messaging
Tagline Development
Logo Design
Visual Identity
Brand Guidelines.
Challenge
Modernize a legacy brand originally created by Carl Sagan, clarify how The Planetary Society differs from organizations such as NASA, SpaceX, and SETI, and create a stronger strategy for growing membership and public engagement.
Result
A modernized and more legible visual identity that preserved Carl Sagan’s original Saturn-inspired “P,” supported by the new “Take Your Place in Space” tagline and a comprehensive brand system designed to strengthen recognition, consistency, membership growth, and audience engagement.
Take Your Place In Space
The Planetary Society partnered with The Bureau of Small Projects® to update their logo and brand strategy. The original logo was drawn on the back of a napkin by the legendary Carl Sagan and they were looking for a more legible and modern logo – keeping the P that is formed by the rings of Saturn – and clear strategy to grow membership and increase engagement as the world reaches out to the stars like never before.
The Planetary Society was of course founded by Carl Sagan and is led today by Bill Nye. The Planetary Society exists to empower and connect the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration and some of the brightest stars in history are part of their legacy.
That’s why The Bureau of Small Projects were honored to be chosen by Bill Nye to bring the Planetary Society’s branding and messaging into the 21st Century. With competitors like SpaceX, NASA and SETI, this was no easy challenge. But our branding process – focused on what makes organizations different and better than their competitors vs the brand story approach favored by most agencies was clearly the way to go. Not only does the Planetary Society have Star power behind them with affiliations by such luminaries as Carl Sagan, Bill Nye, Neil Neil deGrasse Tyson and many more, their mission to make space accessible to everyone speaks to you and me. Finding what it is that makes an organization unique is not always easy but with the Planetary Society we had a lot to work with.
Landscape Analysis
Learning about the competition is an essential part of building a strong brand because it helps you understand the landscape in which your organization operates. By analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, positioning, and messaging, you gain insight into what resonates with your shared audience and where gaps may exist. This knowledge allows you to refine your own brand identity, ensuring that your values, story, and offerings stand out in meaningful ways. Without this context, you risk blending in with the noise or worse—appearing as a weaker imitation of a more established competitor.
With competitors Like NASA, SpaceX and SETI we know were were up agains giants.
Value Proposition, Strategy and Messaging
Once we’ve learned about The Planetary Society’s competitors, we needed to articulate what it is that they do differently and better than the folks we just learned about, NASA, SpaceX and SETI.
The Planetary Society stands out because it is a nonprofit driven by citizens rather than government agencies or private companies. While NASA leads large-scale missions funded by taxpayers, SpaceX focuses on commercial spaceflight innovation, and SETI conducts scientific searches for extraterrestrial life, The Planetary Society’s mission is to engage and empower ordinary people in advancing space exploration.
Slogan/Tagline
While the purpose of a great name is so people remember you, slogans and taglines are the workhorses of the branding world, and their purpose is to sell. They can be longer, more complex or very short and telegraphic. They can be humorous or descriptive of complex qualities or benefits — or they may be very suggestive and abstract. In a perfect world, we like the slogans and taglines to encapsulate the value proposition: what our client does differently and better than their competition.
When Andre Lawless, our resident poet, presented “Take Your Place In Space” we knew we had a clear winner when Bill started googling the availability right there on the call and purchased all the available domains on GoDaddy within the hour.
Logo
Once we had a name, we began the logo design process by creating three to five different families of logos and marks for The Planetary Society ranging from conservative to a little bit “out there”. Conservative does not mean dull and boring though. In the kickoff meeting we discussed the importance of retaining the original “P” logo that Carl Sagan drew on the back of a napkin but with more “punch”. Tough to argue against that. This was the conservative one. After that we wanted to do our due diligence and explore a range of options based on the new slogan that everyone loved.
Our process breaks down each step into specific, measurable “sprints.” Sprints consist of 3 big meetings and 3 phases: 1) A kickoff where the project requirements are discussed 2) The initial exploration where multiple options are presented, and the direction is narrowed and refined and 3) A polish pass where the finishing touches are discussed and applied.
Once the 5 families of logos were presented, Bill picked the one he “kind of, sort of” liked the best – the one with Carl Sagan’s “P” and we made revisions until the entire team loved it! This approach works especially well for large government agencies with multiple stakeholders or big nonprofits like the Planetary Society that have many decision makers. It is also an amazing focusing tool.
We don’t work like other agencies, we are advisors not labor, we massively simplify the branding process, not only because small businesses, startups and nonprofits typically can’t afford the endless mockups, countless revisions and infinite strategy sessions of those huge companies (or have tight timelines and need to get world class results quickly), but mainly, because it makes the branding better.
Once the direction was narrowed down, we explored color options, supporting fonts and practical applications. When the final design was chosen we rendered the logo as a vector file and created all the needed formats, JPG, PNG, CMYK and RGB.
The Brand Manual
Lastly we produced The Planetary Society’s Brand Manual. A brand manual is essential because it serves as the official guidebook that defines how an organization presents itself to the world. It establishes clear rules for visual identity—such as logos, colors, typography, and imagery—as well as tone of voice, messaging, and brand values. By documenting these standards, the brand manual ensures that everyone inside and outside the organization communicates the brand in a consistent, recognizable way. This consistency builds credibility, strengthens customer trust, and helps the organization stand out in a crowded marketplace.
Beyond design and messaging, a brand manual also streamlines collaboration across teams, partners, and vendors. Without it, nonprofits like The Planetary Society with a strong media presence and charismatic leader who work with a great many collaborators risk to have each partner interpret the brand differently, leading to fragmented, diluted communication that confuses members. A well-crafted brand manual prevents this by acting as a single source of truth, reducing inefficiencies and ensuring every touchpoint—from social media posts to product packaging—feels cohesive and aligned. In this way, the manual protects the brand’s integrity and helps it grow stronger over time.
The Intangible
Branding for nonprofits such as The Planetary Society is an ongoing conversation because their mission isn’t tied to a single product or transaction, it’s about building a lasting movement. Unlike companies that can rely on direct sales, nonprofits depend on long-term trust, emotional connection, and shared values to inspire continued support. This requires constant storytelling, consistent messaging, and frequent reminders of why the mission matters. Every communication, whether through campaigns, events, or social media, becomes part of an evolving dialogue that keeps the organization relevant and its supporters engaged.
The audiences nonprofits serve and rely on – donors, members, volunteers, and advocates – are diverse. As interests shift and cultural conversations change, The Planetary Society must be able to continuously adapt to stay aligned with what motivates their supporters. That means not only celebrating space exploration but also framing it in ways that resonate with new generations and global communities. By continuously evolving their brand, the organization ensures its identity remains vibrant, its message stays fresh, and its community feels actively involved in advancing their vision.
