SheUp: NEW LOOK, same message
SheUp just got a new look and some AMAZING new features. Learn about our 2020 rebrand, the inspiration behind it, and some exciting updates about the SheUp community from one of the leaders behind it.
Hello! My name is Rachel K Zhang, and I am a Canadian international student. I’ve been in Shanghai for almost five years now and I work in freelance through RKZ Creative Content & Consulting (RKZ Creative for short) for marketing and content creation. I also co-founded Hart Outfitters, an equestrian athleisure brand. I got to know SheUp through its founder Dani, and I am now a proud cofounder of the community as well as helping to lead its 2020 rebrand.
Before we get into the rebrand, I would like to quickly note the importance of a community like SheUp; In a rapidly progressing world it is imperative that we are able to grow and contribute to it as women, and to do so on equal terms as our male counterparts. We have come extraordinarily far in terms of gender equality, and we are seeing the glass ceiling being hammered on by the likes of women like Nancy Pelosi, Malala Yousafzai — Although we’re not fully there yet. I think this is something men don’t always understand, since many times it comes in the forms of micro-aggressions or subtle shifts towards women in the workplace as leaders, co-workers, spokespeople, etc.. There are many factors contributing to this ineffable perception of women, stemming from media, advertisements, education systems, and history. We can’t fix it overnight (being able to ‘fix it' in itself is arguable), but it’s our responsibility to help cultivate the optimal environment for women to thrive as leaders and entrepreneurs alongside men. SheUp is that community of like-minded individuals focused on reciprocal growth, maximizing productivity, and supporting each other that we need so fiercely. Our very presence is an indication to the glass ceiling coming loose on its hinges, and with every new addition to our community of another badass business lady, it receives another crack in the glass.
Now, onto the exciting news!
SheUp now has a brand new look -
more modern, more cohesive, and all around more representative of the SheUp Community. Perhaps the biggest change was omitting the space between the words for ‘She Up,’ so now the name is officially “SheUp”! I love working with rebrands and redesigns, and especially for a community with such a strong and powerful message. Here are a few glimpses into the design process for SheUp, starting from different font/colour combinations to drawing up different logos.
And in the end, we finally settled with a combination that was simple but modern, using colours that were elegant but also with some fun pops of colour! We tried to focus on balancing warm and cool tones and especially the pinks - The soft pink is my personal favourite colour for SheUp, and I had originally wanted to make it the primary colour for the brand. But after a call with co-founders Thauana and Dani we discussed how we didn’t want it to exude too much femininity and make us seem less approachable for men.
Our intention is never — and was never — to create a community exclusively for us girls to angrily talk about how unfair certain industries are for us. In order to move forwards and truly promote inclusivity and gender-equality in the workplace, men need to be included in the conversation.
SheUp is not a community for women, but a female-centered community.
I originally spoke with Dani about the possibility of a rebrand back in March, and to this she explained to me the amazing story of how SheUp actually came to be. I would much rather her explain it in her words, so here is a little feature from Dani herself.
It’s so incredible that what started as a small community was able to grow into this dynamic group of bad-ass business ladies - Everyone within the community has so many amazing things to share, and it seemed only fitting we make the SheUp brand ‘catch up’ and build this platform to support everyone in it. We would like SheUp to be the place for anyone to be able to share their experiences and stories and simultaneously hear and learn from others, growing their brands and growing as individuals.
What’s to Come!
We are constantly building and evolving as a community, and a big part of that are some new and exciting features of SheUp, tailored for us to be able to grow and succeed together.
The SheUp Membership
We have created an exclusive membership program built on five pillars; Finding your value, building connections, creating a system, fostering growth, reaching the dream. We are extremely excited to be able to offer exclusive programs and platforms for this - Including an acceleration/membership program featuring workshops and video courses on company registrations, trademarking, etc. with professionals in China. We are also curating a SheUp Newsletter and the ability for members to promote themselves and their company to our wide audience. Here is a little preview of the monthly Women of SheUp feature with our very own Thauana!
And as always, having the broad SheUp community and network supporting you and helping you with all of our hearts. As a more registered platform, we are excited to be able to invest more in social work, something we are very passionate about. In the future, look out for SheUp collaborations with educational and philanthropic organizations to be able to be directly involved in promoting widespread education and welfare - And making it accessible for YOU to be a part of that change as well.
THANK YOU to everyone who has followed, supported, and been a part of our journey for SheUp. We are looking forwards to inspiring, encouraging, and connecting together.
Stay tuned on our social media accounts for more updates and events coming up! And we would love to hear from you — So reach out to us through any of these platforms, through the website, or individually to anyone in the leadership team.