New logo put on hold amidst public outcry

The City of Vancouver has put their new logo on hold after it was met with a lot of criticism from the public.

The logo, which cost $8,000 to develop, was instantaneously mocked upon its release last week.

Mayor Gregor Robertson finally responded to the criticism with a written statement on Tuesday.

“Last week, City Council approved the roll-out of a refreshed City wordmark, its first official update in 10 years,” said Robertson. Since then, some members of Vancouver’s design community have raised a number of concerns and a desire to revisit the direction and process.”

The main concerns had to do with the simplicity of the logo, with people mocking the fact that it took $8,000 to commission a design that most could do in Microsoft Paint.

Our visual identity reflects who we are, and we want to get it right. Next steps on the refreshed wordmark: https://t.co/AOqqbXCBUD #vanpoli

— Gregor Robertson (@MayorGregor) March 1, 2017

In his written statement, Robertson confirmed that the rebranding plans would be put on hold while the city met with Vancouver-based designers.

“Over the last week, there have been some compelling cases raised about why a different approach is needed,” the mayor said. “In response to these concerns, I have asked the City Manager not to put the wordmark on any permanent City assets while we engage with the design community and public in looking at ongoing improvements to the City brand.”

Robertson has asked Johnathon Strebly, the B.C. and National President of the Graphic Designers of Canada, to hold a discussion with local design stakeholders in the coming weeks.

The conversation will focus around the logo as the city tries to accelerate the evolution of its brand.