Going from old — to new — back to old?! There’s a minor bump in the road to market the City of Las Vegas.
In May, the Las Vegas City Council said it wasn’t sure the city’s new, highly touted logo was quite right, so staff went back to the drawing board. Now, there’s a solution. They’re getting rid of it.
Last year, the city spent about $20,000 of tax payer’s money on a branding study, which included finding a new logo. The logo was chosen, but it’s not going to last. The artist of that logo, Victoria Hart, thought a bright, new, modern way for the city to show off itself off was perfect.
Hart received word that the city was ditching her logo last week.
“I’m not as happy,” Hart said. “The city told me that they weren’t going to use the logo anymore.”
A city council meeting three months ago, was the first hint something was wrong with the new logo. Despite its flashy unveiling, the mayor and some council members said it was confusing to have the new logo and an old seal at the same time.
Scott Adams, the new city manager, made the final decision and killed the logo.
“A lot of it has to do with me,” Adams said. “The problem is we can’t have two images. We can’t have two things out there.”
Barely a month into the job, Adams sent an email to staff this week, saying the reversal was to carry a “more serious message” for Las Vegas.
“It is critical, for a city to display and project a consistent and unified image,” Adams said.
This wasn’t what Hart signed up for as the designer.
“The struggle really was with the city,” Hart said. “The old logo and new logo and the new logo not being serious enough for business; that wasn’t what they were asking for in the brief. It took me months to create brand identities for them, so it is disappointing.”
Hart was paid for her work, and the city plans to use the logo in other ways, on T-shirts for example.
City staff said it wouldn’t cost much to put everything back the way it was before the change. The images will be swapped as equipment is recycled.
