For years Friends of the Goethe-Institut (FOGI) in Washington, DC has played an important role in promoting and assisting the Goethe-Institut, Germany's foremost international cultural institute, with its principal goals. These goals include promoting contemporary German culture,
creating interest in learning the German language and developing channels of dialog between cultures across the Atlantic. As a non-profit organization, FOGI enhances the Goethe-Institut's programs through fun, social activities as opposed to classroom oriented learning. One of the most popular events being informal monthly gatherings at local taverns where members eat, drink and practice German conversational skills.

Although active in their community, FOGI wanted to reduce confusion about its relationship with the Goethe-Institut and be better recognized as its own entity. FOGI needed its own distinctive symbol to accompany its well established acronym. The symbol had to be different from the Goethe-Institut mark, but it was important to FOGI that the connection to the Goethe-Institut be communicated as well.

The resulting symbol combines the familiar circular shapes and color of the Goethe-Institut mark, but does so in its own way. Rather than reusing the concentric circle motif of the Goethe-Institut signature, a single circle of similar size is boldly filled in with the Goethe-Institut green, and a second smaller circle is laid over the top, obscuring the underlying green field. To complete the new symbol the FOGI acronym it knocked out of the green field using the Goethe-Institut's signature font. Although very similar in shape and color to the Goethe-Institut's mark, the new FOGI symbol creates the distinction that the organization was looking to acheive.
 
 
Top and bottom right: Stationery system for FOGI.