About the ASM Brand

Why We Refreshed Our Brand

In 2024, we introduced a bold strategic roadmap for the future of ASM and recognized that we needed a strong and cohesive brand to support it.

We will now be known simply as ASM. Our refreshed brand reflects who we are, where we are headed and what drives us: more expansive, more inclusive and extending beyond traditional boundaries. This change is motivated by our core values: opening our doors wider, so more people can see themselves in our work and our community. We’re still ASM, rooted in our past and growing into our future, and we’re excited to step into this next chapter together.

Our Story

Great potential from the smallest organisms—
that’s the power of the microbial sciences.

As our understanding of microbes deepens, new possibilities emerge―to improve health, advance knowledge, power industry and change lives.

ASM is shaping the future of the microbial sciences. In pursuit of progress, we unite a network of scientific minds across disciplines and continents. We publish influential research, convene experts, guide policy and champion science education. ASM is where a global community finds not only recognition and professional growth, but a place to belong and the means to propel us forward.

Curiosity drives our community to explore, discover and solve. Some answer questions about microbial life in all its complexity. Others use microbes to defend against threats and address many of humanity's greatest challenges. Developing new vaccines to prevent tomorrow’s outbreaks. Helping farmers feed communities by growing more and wasting less. Breaking down pollutants to clean our air and water.

Together, we drive progress in the microbial sciences for the global good. One discovery at a time, we’re forging a brighter, healthier future for all.

Our Name & Tagline

ASM—it’s what we call ourselves and how we’re known across the world. We are more than American, more than a traditional Society and we reach beyond microbiology—but we’re still ASM.

Our tagline—Microbes Makes Our World—is our declaration: capturing the power of microbes, and what unifies the people who make up ASM.

Our Visual Identity

As we honor our roots and celebrate our shared future, we also reflect on a century of innovation.

1916-1952
Early Logo

ASM’s earliest “logo” was a colophon for the cover of our first periodical publication, The Journal of Bacteriology. The hand drawn representation of Leeuwenhoek, shown here, was used from 1916-1952.
1953-1974
Updated Leeuwenhoek Colophon

By the mid twentieth-century, ASM Archivist Barnett Cohen determined to use a more accurate representation of Leeuwenhoek as the colophon for the Journal of Bacteriology, and this was in use from 1953-1974. This version was made by J. Goeree and published in Leeuwenhoek’s last volume of published letters in 1718.
1975-2000
75th Anniversary Logo

Created for the 75th anniversary, this logo reflected the expanding branches of microbiology and the field’s growth.
2000-2026
Centennial Microscope Logo

Introduced for ASM’s centennial, the microscope logo became a modern symbol of discovery and identity.
Today
Reimagined Microscope Logo

Our reimagined logo brings together symbolic elements that represent the past, present, and future of ASM.