People Living with HIV/AIDS Victoria is looking to the future for people living with HIV/AIDS by unveiling its new brand identity – Living Positive Victoria at its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday evening.

The new logo, which was refined via community research and extensive focus testing, has been designed to represent the community feeling of people living with HIV instead of just a diagnosis. While the formal name has not changed, this new tagline provides an updated identity that will be used across the agency’s programs and services as the previous brand, which is 23 years old, will begin to be phased out.

“The lived experience of people with HIV has evolved over the years and so have we,” said PLWHA Victoria President Sam Venning.

“Our new branding strategy reflects this – we are people living with HIV but we live positive lives, lives which add value to our communities and lives which are an important piece of the fabric of living with HIV.”

“Our new organisational identity reflects our position as a vibrant, evolving organisation which acknowledges and cherishes the diverse lived experiences of people with HIV,” Venning adds. “We feel confident that our members will embrace the new logo and our new identity as Living Positive Victoria.”

The change in brand was met with support and encouragement last night via social media. Among the supporters was Laird Leatherman 2012 Ben Riethmuller. ‘Congratulations to the new brand of Living Positive Victoria, and congratulations on the rebranding and refresh of the organisation,” he reacted. There was plenty of support on Twitter, too: “Sound engagement process and a great new look.”

While this new brand identity strengthens what is already going on in our community and reflects the change in how we should all view those living with HIV, it also helps to reject the stigma that comes with the diagnosis. We are Living Positive Victoria.

Joy 94.9 will have a full report from the AGM on Thursday from noon.