Bread Line Design

Procrastinating at work I came across Apples original logo, a bizarre and intricate illustration of Isaac Newton sat under a tree with the famous granny smith poised for a fall. It was great to see the where the Iconic mark came from, and nice to be reminded that even billion dollar tech companies once had impractical and over the top logos.

Ok I did this awhile back, but fancied putting it up anyway. Was a personal piece inspired by some great illustration I’d seen online.

Last week I defended the Tunbridge Wells Council’s decision to rebrand from a another knee-jerk media reaction, the majority of criticism seemingly leveled at the £18,500 price tag. The quality was also attacked, with the local paper pointing out that the new logo was by most standards a bit rubbish. They were right, but they failed to mention it was modern, the logos one saving grace. In contrast the previous logo belonged in an museum. The region needed a fresh face, and although the results were far from perfect, the time was right for a change.

Everyone has an opinion on the region they live in and the other regions of the country. On a local level we never really see the regions brand at work. We may occasionally see the logo in the local paper or the councils website, but it has very little effect on our day to day lives. Nationally however the picture is very different, and its on this stage that a modern identity starts to pay its dues.

Scotland is known for its countryside, Cambridgeshire its university and Manchester its football. Country, region and city, all with their own identities. They work hard to promote themselves nationally, though the locals rarely see it. You have to be in Glasgow to see a One North East advert, just as you need to watching the TV in England to see a Visit Scotland advert.

And Tunbridge Wells? It be foolish to think an area that small can do without a modern logo. With local I.T firms struggling to tempt talent away from London, and local initiatives such as Kent TV allowing new platforms for area promotion, now is the time for a new face. And as for the £18,500 price tag? This is logo for a region where a pint costs £3.70 and a house over £300,000. For the same price as a new ford focus the town can present a logo that although not award winning, at least won’t be receiving a telegram from the Queen any time soon.

Why is it always bad logo design that makes the news? Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s new logo is the latest logo to get publicly slammed, appearing on the front page of their local paper in what must have been a really slow news day in Kent.

Costing £18,500 the local paper is not happy, and as the logo is pretty rubbish, its understandable, but is it really becoming acceptable to blast design work this publicly? The new logo is bad, but it is at least newer than the one it replaced, which had past its sell-by-date a decade ago. It seems since the Olympic logo was so brutally mauled the media has had free reign to decide what is good and bad value.

The situation isn’t helped by biased coverage. Headlines always make the price out to be for the logo alone, disregarding the consultancy, research and multiple concepts that come hand in hand with rebrands. Councils are big organizations, and getting buy-in from all parties on a new design would be a stressfully slow process. The paper decided to add a cutting insult to mild injury, stating “They would have been better off asking residents to submit their own ideas”.

Nice. Maybe next time there’s a power cut they should ask residents to submit their own batteries.

This media attitude sets a bad precedent for freelance logo designers. If the public (aided by the media) believe their design skills rival established professionals, then the perceived value of design drops, and when that happens the lower end of the logo market suffers. Big brands understand the need for professional branding, but does the local plumber and the high street nail salon? It’s clients like these that keep freelancers and small design business’s alive, and if their local paper is trivializing brand design then its people like them who suffer.

Public awareness of the true cost of branding needs to be raised if the tide of negative publicity is to be turned. Logo design is one of the smallest parts of a brand, but if the media continue to make out to be the biggest then the logo design industry will face a turbulent future.