Turfgrass Producers International has unveiled a new logo as it marks its 50th anniversary. The most striking change in the logo is the inclusion of the words “natural grass.”
The new logo was unveiled at TPI’s International Education Conference & Field Day in February in Tampa, Fla.
Back in 1967 a handful of turfgrass producers founded the American Sod Producers Association. For most of the association’s first decade, its identity was merely the letters A-S-P-A or the name American Sod Producers Association. The acronym and even the name appeared in numerous sizes, assorted formats and inconsistent type styles.
In 1976, Charles Lain of Pine Island Turf Nursery in Pine Island, New York, (who would later serve as ASPA’s president in 1978-1979) suggested the association develop a logo that would be used to not only promote the association but provide some continuity. ASPA’s first logo with the easily-recognizable roll of sod first appeared. Lain encouraged members to incorporate the new graphic in their advertising and use it on their letterheads and other promotional materials.
When the American Sod Producers Association changed its name to Turfgrass Producers International (TPI) in 1994 (based on a unanimous vote by members attending the 27th annual ASPA business meeting), a new logo was designed and introduced that combined the familiar turfgrass sod roll with the new name and initials.
A new logo for Turfgrass Producers International had been under consideration for some time. Being that 2017 represented TPI’s 50th Anniversary it seemed an appropriate time to design a logo that could, as Hank Kerfoot of Modern Turf, Inc. stated, withstand the test of time and better reflect TPI as we look to the future.
Kerfoot pointed out that in the sod industry TPI stands for Turfgrass Producers International, but he stated that it was important to reinforce who sod growers were with current or even potential members and the general public. He wrote, “Our members know who we are but the most important idea moving forward is that we need brand awareness from golf course builders and superintendents, groundskeepers, soccer moms, erosion control companies, landscape architects, legislators, lobbyists, developers, homeowners, etc. Our new logo should help these groups visualize what we produce.”
Kerfoot added, “Our new logo needs to bring us into the future and keep us going for quite some time.”
His overall goal, and one that was agreed upon by others, was that the new logo needed to be strong, classic, colourful, withstand the test of time, have a long shelf life, and have the potential to be a stand-alone icon that serves as a bullet point on a website and in collateral material and literature.
The new TPI logo was the preferred choice, not only by the board and committee members, but by the professional marketing group at Sod Solutions that designed numerous logos for TPI’s consideration.
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