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By Fruitbowl,
November 9th, 2009The Hastings District Council has two branding options that they are consulting with the community – see http://www.hastingsdc.govt.nz/brand
There will always be mixed opinions when it comes to branding efforts by councils (they’ll never make everyone happy) – however they do need to move forward and adopt something and then marketing it well – so it has a strong presence.
Which one do you like??
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12:51, 09.11.2009
I really like option A. It seems to be a bit better thought out i.e. reference to the plains, the sea, the river, the peak etc. Also, the font is much better. Option B font looks a bit like lettering from a stencil? And I think HB sunshine references are taken care of by other branding.
12:53, 09.11.2009
I prefer A, but much more interested in the Hawkes Bay message rather than the City branding.
Option B is nice and captures the sun.
14:48, 09.11.2009
Agree wholeheartly with your comments Rod.
19:50, 09.11.2009
I agree with George regarding typefaces and imagery. The longer I looked at option A, the more I could see components of a landscape. However, my first impression was of a tea-towel pegged to a clothes line (sorry, but that is what I saw first).
Option A is an overly complicated logo and it will not work in black and white (which should always be a consideration when designing a logo). It relies too heavily on colour to express its imagery.
The other problem with Option A is that it verges on being a pictogram rather than a logo. From this point of view, option B is better because it is more abstract. However, like Option A, option B is overly complex and its detail is too fine. It needs to be simplified to make it bold and effective.
What does option B represent?
21:05, 09.11.2009
Is there an Option C, because I tend to agree with Chris on simplifying this down (especially for reproduction into various media). If pushed I would definitely go for Option A because I get the association with the Heretaunga Basin etc, and it is a clever design with clean fonts.
Is this sort of micro-branding good use of rate payer monies, when we could be pushing the region out to the wider world as a whole?
10:33, 10.11.2009
Option B looks to be a slightly modified, different colour version of Meridian Energy’s.
15:15, 10.11.2009
I like option B better… Option A seems a bit cluttered to me….
15:52, 10.11.2009
They both look like things I used to draw using my “spirograph” set some thirty years ago.
16:49, 10.11.2009
I like Option A because it looks like a magic carpet.
18:41, 10.11.2009
Neither of these conjures up any connection to Hastings in my mind, I agree with Rohan’s comment, “Is this sort of micro-branding good use of rate payer monies, when we could be pushing the region out to the wider world as a whole?”
In fact the exorbitant cost of re-branding could be avoided by asking local visual arts or multimedia students to submit their ideas for a new logo. I guarantee they would come up with a more Hastings/Hawke’s Bay connected logo for no more than the kudos of having their design chosen.
10:45, 11.11.2009
If there does need to be separate branding (which I concur is counterproductive) then I’d go for option A. In the end as long as these things aren’t too awful then they fade into the background and are generally accepted. They are only really noticed if too incongruous. I seem to vaguely recall Lower Hutt once they had a strap line for the city “Right up my Hutt Valley” that lasted for a couple of days and was promptly assigned to the annals (excuse the pun) of history.
10:53, 11.11.2009
“Right up my Hutt Valley”??? THAT is appalling!
21:10, 11.11.2009
If only Hastings had taken a regional approach to this, rather than a them/us approach then we may have had something that was not only locally created but also contemporary, inspiring and simple. Not to mention practical, from a design/print perspective. I’m sorry Lawrence (if you ever read this) but how can someone who is chasing the rainbow of a ‘super council’ only allow Hastings-based businesses to provide expertise/insight into the development of such a significant brand? Understandably that’s the safest option after having gone out of the region in the first place (no need to rub more ‘salt’ into that particular wound, I suppose!) but best for the city? Best for the region? Best for the future? These options look outdated already! As a Napier-based business owner who was not given the opportunity to share our expertise, this may come across as sour grapes – it’s not. In fact I am almost too nervous to comment given the potential negative ramifications for my business, but as a Hastings girl born and bred I’m going to say it anyway. These overly complex, multi-coloured, 70s-inspired concepts are not right for the city, the region, nor the future. But if you want to widen the net and get a brand that could be, feel free to talk to us. It could be the best $2K you never spent!
PS I think there are a number of local design/print/marketing experts who’d be interested in knowing just exactly who those international expert advisors actually were, as reported in HB Today.
PPS I won’t even start on the apostrophe missing…
19:28, 13.11.2009
As a practical kinda girl I look at these and think how hard both would be to get consistent across all mediums (think both designs are awful – remind me of a) crochet-square knee rug and b)candlewick bedspread). Any logo created these days needs to be recognisable even at the size used to identify contributors on this page, and at a glance no matter whether in a brochure, on a bus, card, website, tee shirt, sign etc AND look fab in one colour (long-run, single-colour printing delivers best value for the ratepayer).
PS: You may have had this discussion…If Hastings is the Heart of Hawke’s Bay, is Napier the Brain? One of them needs to be. There’s a big world out there for Hawke’s Bay to interact with.
21:19, 13.11.2009
What a horrible process for the designers.
This threads shows demonstrates again that things like logo’s can’t be done by consensus. I remember TePapa, that Auckland one a couple of years ago. Very easy for everyone not involved to take a shot.
Maybe a better process might have been for the internal comms people to do some low profile consultation, make the call, announce and then duck for cover.
There is a time for consensus and time for leadership. Sometimes the process ruins the very thing you were trying to achieve.
08:38, 17.11.2009
I particular like the suggestion by Jacqui about heart and brains. Another colleague of mine said Hastings is the wife and Napier the mistress. Sort of stuck with me but not sure how you would logoise it!
18:29, 17.11.2009
Does that make Havelock the grandmother?
It is a terrible process for the designers and probably a bit late to include the community once the designs have already been done!
Perhaps it would have been much better to ask the community what Hastings means to them, or what they would like to see incorporated into the design BEFORE the designers got started??
17:11, 26.11.2009
Havelock North is not the grandmother jeez we have a way funky logo as we are The Heart of Winecountry you know??
‘Life of Hawkes Bay’ might be better than Heart ………don’t mind the patchwork quilt I think it looks better in the flesh? Paddocks and the river …..Everything Under the Sun…Twin Cities, Hawke’s Bay.
13:38, 27.11.2009
I think the city branding strap line concept is very dated. Everyone has been jumping on this bandwagon since Saatchi $ Saatchi launched “Absolutely Positively Wellington” – but no one has come close to that gem since. It’s laughable driving around NZ now. Every half horse town has a strapline! I think we should just use HASTINGS with Hawkes Bay as the subtext. Simple.