On Tuesday, the American Chemical Society displayed a new brand—one that reflects the organization’s evolution, growing global impact, and vision for a world built on science.
“For 150 years, ACS has helped people, ideas, and discoveries connect to advance science,” ACS CEO Albert G. Horvath says in a press release. “Today, our brand reflects both who we are and the future we’re helping build. It strengthens our ability to connect and serve the global scientific community for generations to come.”
Over that time, the organization has grown and evolved, and has adapted what it offers. Most people often get to know the society through its individual parts—including scholarly publishing, educational and professional programs or products, scientific advocacy and outreach—and do not fully realize everything the ACS can provide.
The brand reveal coinciding with the society’s 150th anniversary is deliberate, but the journey started a few years before because “evolving our brand was certainly something we didn’t want to take lightly,” says Stephanie Holland, ACS’s senior vice president of communications and marketing. “Our story isn’t about a logo.” Holland wanted to make sure it was an alignment story.
“Today, our brand reflects both who we are and the future we’re helping build. It strengthens our ability to connect and serve the global scientific community for generations to come.”
The intention behind the change was to ensure that ACS reflects how science happens today, whether that means being more interdisciplinary, more global, or more connected, Holland says. “The brand story really is about making it easier for scientists to be able to discover and navigate and really benefit from all that ACS has to offer.”
It would be impossible to boil chemistry down to a logo, but thinking about it as a science that can transform the world can help understand the branding update. “It takes all science and the intersection of [science] to solve the world’s greatest challenges,” Holland says. That thinking shifts the emphasis to the experience that members, customers, and those in the wider community have with ACS, she adds, and the rebrand “gives us a chance to align that.”
If a member is able to discover all of what ACS offers, and as a result further help empower science and discovery, then Holland would call that a successful rebrand. And while the effort focuses on the experience, it’s important to note that the society’s mission, vision, strategic goals, and core values remain unchanged.
Those interested can learn more on the ACS’s website and at the upcoming ACS Fall 2026 in Chicago.
