LOS ANGELES — The Executive Director of the Free Speech Coalition (FSC), Michelle L. LeBlanc, has issued a letter to the community announcing a rebranding, including a new logo, of the adult industry trade group.
The new logo has had a soft launch during the last week, and it represents, LeBlanc explained, “a shield with the abstract shape of a body.”
Here’s the full letter to the community from FSC's Executive Director Michelle L. LeBlanc:
Dear Community,
You might have noticed a new FSC logo in a few places.
Since I joined FSC in October last year, we have been discussing the evolution of FSC from our roots in historic First Amendment fights to where we are today and where we are headed in the future.
FSC has changed as much as the adult industry has in that time and we want our branding and logo to be a reflection of that. In early February, we engaged Bryan Keith of Nomancy Design to design FSC’s new look with plans to launch the rebrand in May. As with nearly everything else in our lives right now, plans changed.
A significant portion of my career was devoted to marketing so I will be the first to admit that the middle of a global pandemic might not be the ideal time to rebrand an organization, but there is one attribute that I have in common with FSC: we remain undaunted in the face of a challenge.
FSC’s mission as a trade association is to protect the rights and freedoms of the adult industry so that we all continue to prosper. That element of protection is so important that it became our new logomark: a shield with the abstract shape of a body. We first used our new logo in conjunction with the release of the FSC Emergency Fund because I can’t stop thinking about that shield and what it stands for. FSC provides armor for the adult industry, which needs protecting now more than ever.
We’ve been under renewed attacks from state and federal legislation since FOSTA-SESTA passed. We’re experiencing an unprecedented production hold due to a global pandemic. Individual and corporate rights are being violated on a daily basis by financial institutions, employers, landlords, social media platforms, and once again by the federal government as they seek to exclude legal adult entertainment from emergency aid programs. None of that will stop this industry from moving forward and none of that will stop FSC from moving forward.
We aren’t going to have the big, splashy rebrand I wanted to do in May, but that wasn’t the important part, anyway. What’s important is that we keep doing what we can when we can.
For this project, that means we will slowly change out the old logo and the old colors as we are able to. We thank you for your patience during this extended time of transition as we unveil more of the branding elements, including those for FSC PASS and FSC INSPIRE, the talent-centered education program.
While we at FSC are worried for the survival of the most vulnerable members of our industry, we remain inspired by the strength of our collective community and what we can accomplish together.
Be safe,
Michelle L. LeBlanc
Executive Director
