Agenda Item Wording:
title
Logo Discussion and potential direction regarding the new City of Visalia logo.
body
Deadline for Action: 6/3/2024
Submitting Department: Administration
Contact Name and Phone Number: Allison Mackey, Communications Manager, (559) 713-4535.
Department Recommendation:
It is recommended that the Visalia City Council receive public input and provide direction regarding next steps regarding the City’s logo. Possible options include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) Retain the current logo.
2) Revert to the previous logo.
3) Retain or modify the current logo to be used when the medium being utilized warrants it, and retain the previous logo as a Legacy Logo that would be utilized in situations where it can be appropriately displayed and its detail clearly denoted.
4) Open the brand refresh logo design process again and work with the current consultants to redesign the current logo to include community feedback received since May 6, 2024.
5) Open the brand refresh logo design process again and create a process wherein local artists/graphic designers can submit designs, (that align with the requirements of a scope of work/design), have those designs reviewed by a panel of local graphic and marketing professionals, with a selection of final logos presented to the community to be voted on via community meetings or digital voting methods. The Council could then consider the results and make a final selection.
6) Open the brand refresh logo design process again and work through the City’s Purchasing Division process to conduct a Request for Proposals and choose another consultant to revisit the most recent City logo and create a variation of its design or a completely new design.
When considering these options, staff recommends taking into consideration the following thoughts which, while specific, should not be overly restrictive for people designing a professional logo that will work in modern formats:
A. Today’s logos need to work with a variety of mediums that were not previously contemplated. As such, staff would recommend that any logo submitted meet the following criteria:
a. Appropriate for the City
i. Any logo design should elevate the City of Visalia brand, enabling it to communicate about the organization and community.
b. Simple and Modern
i. The logo should aim to meet the criteria set forth in the feedback received, as well as abide by design principles. A simple logo is easier to recognize, remember and reproduce while conveying a clear and consistent message.
c. Versatile and Scalable
i. The logo will need to work in a variety of mediums, ranging from small, digital icons to printed letterhead to embroidered staff shirts to 10-foot billboards.
ii. The logo will need to be able to have it’s colors translated to the Pantone Matching System (PMS) and ultimately the PMS Color Bridge. This is to ensure consistent color results in every application.
d. Include Quality Typeface
i. A logo does require an entirely custom typeface, but it should be unique and contribute to a brand mark. The typeface should be legible, appropriate and complimentary.
e. Color
i. The logo should include at least two colors, ideally no more than five. Colors should be limited, harmonious and meaningful.
ii. The logo should not rely solely on its hue, and should also work in grayscale, black or white.
f. Space
i. The logo should be designed in a way that is balanced, organized and expressive. Clever techniques such as negative space or hidden meanings, when appropriate, can be used.
B.
Considerable time and money has been spent on the assts that were developed as part of this process. Staff would also recommend that any logo change be such that it could be readily adapted into the current asset formats.
Background Discussion:
At the May 20, 2024 the Visalia City Council voted to place an item on the next meeting agenda that would allow the Council to hold discussion and determine direction regarding the new City of Visalia logo. At that time, staff confirmed that while the rollout of the new logo had been underway on vehicles, banners, brochures, uniforms and other items that had ordered after the November approval, no new items have been purchased or ordered with the new logo since May 20.
In previous action, on November 6, 2023, the City Council completed the last major milestone of the City of Visalia brand refresh project by choosing the new City logo, known then as R5-Fox Theatre and the logo’s color palette. With this direction, City staff continued the brand refresh process, including brand development, creation of marketing campaigns, and photography/videography products, as outlined in the scope of work and contract with consultant We The Creative.
This project began in March of 2021, when the City Council authorized a Capital Project Request of City Rebranding, beginning the process of a City-wide marketing and rebranding capital improvement project. We The Creative (WTC) was awarded the contract for the project through a competitive bid process. The overarching goal is to update the City’s identity, image, and brand to market the positive aspects of working for and living in the City of Visalia, as well as create a cohesive, modern, identifiable look to be used throughout the organization. In all, the brand refresh was on the agenda and discussed publicly at six City Council meetings.
About the Brand Refresh Process
The process of rebranding began with a discovery phase examining the City of Visalia’s strengths, challenges, personality, organizational culture, and key attributes. This phase involved WTC meeting with the City’s project team, taking tours of the community, conducting roundtable discussions and focus groups that included City Council, City staff, residents, business owners, and staff from other stakeholder organizations.
Additional outreach included digital community surveys that were available to the public at large and were accompanied by targeted outreach to community partners such as Kaweah Health and the Visalia Chamber of Commerce and Tulare Kings Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The results of the survey were reviewed, and WTC then held further focus groups and one on one meetings to verify what the survey results had presented.
Ultimately, WTC found that there was a strong agreement that the results of the survey and the information culled from the community, (over 800 individual interactions), presented a cohesive vision of Visalia. This included the statements that Visalia had a small town/hometown feel with big city feel/amenities, that the city was vibrant with a good downtown and that Visalia was family friendly oriented. Through the discovery phase, WTC noted the words simple, casual, traditional, friendly, agriculture and diverse were repeated across discussions and focus groups. In discussion of a logo, respondents shared they would like it to be simple, artistic, colorful, and modern, while the top visuals they identified would include agriculture, oak trees, view of the mountains and downtown. All this information from conversations, surveys and interviews informed how the logo options and brand messaging components were developed.
Arriving at the New City of Visalia Logo
One of the first steps in the branding process was to create a logo that was visually appealing, recognizable, and representative of Visalia. The input received during discovery indicated it should be simple, artistic, colorful, and modern. WTC initially presented 29 logo concept options, which were then narrowed down to a top three after review and input from the internal project team, City department heads, and staff. Council was also provided an opportunity to, individually, review the top options. From that input, a single concept was selected which is referred to as the “Breaking through the V” option.
Using that concept, WTC was asked to develop style variations of that logo. At the August 7, 2023, Council Meeting, WTC, and City staff presented five variations of the “Breaking through the V” logo for Council consideration and input. Discussion included the need for the logo to be 1) simple, artistic, colorful, and modern, 2) be explored in black and white, and 3) ultimately have a logomark, wordmark and lock-up (logomark with wordmark). The Council chose logo V5, which depicted rolling hills, a building, and mountains in the distance, with the direction that staff work with WTC to come back with a slightly redesigned logo, one that included the building to appear more like the Fox Theatre.
WTC then developed what was referred to as the R5 logo, referred to during the review process as R5-Fox Theatre. This R5-Fox Theatre version of the logo represents the direction of the City Council and has been previously reviewed by the Rebranding Committee and the Rebranding Department Head Subcommittee. The Rebranding Committee and the Rebranding Department Head Subcommittee recommend logo R5-Fox Theatre as the final City logo design, and along with the review of color palettes for the logo, the new logo was voted on and approved by the City Council at the November 6, 2023. This action gave the City of Visalia one of the final design deliverables from the brand refresh project and allowed the process to continue towards rollout.
While staff had anticipated and noted that there was likely to be some discontent over a new logo, just as there had been in 1998 when the previous logo was unveiled, the amount of outcry displayed on social media was much more than anticipated. The design consultants also noted that there is usually significant discussion about a new logo when it is unveiled in a community. WTC shared that for there to be so much passion displayed on social media, and increased involvement, is ultimately a good thing. Given the community input received and the lack of comments when the draft logos were presented and the subsequent follow up discussions were had, the robust social media discussions are a surprise. WTC has continued to work with staff throughout this process, providing feedback and support as next steps are navigated. They have shared that they are prepared to provide two rounds of logo work free of charge, and that a redesign of the Legacy Logo would be approximately $2,500. If the City chose a redesign of the Legacy Logo, WTC would need a Scope of Work detailing exactly what services/processes the City would need, i.e. what exactly the organization was looking for in this addition to the current Scope of Services and work already undertaken.
Total Cost and Deliverables
The total contract cost for services from consultant WTC was $150,000. This includes $75,000 for the HR Marketing and Rebranding Services and $75,000 for City Wide Rebranding/Brand Refresh. This price included the following deliverables which resulted in over 1,200 assets for City use:
• HR Marketing and Rebranding Services
o Brand Audit
o Visual Identity Design and Guidelines
o Workplace Identity, Brand Development and Positioning
§ Website Content
§ Photography and Videography
• Library of 1,165 professional, on-site/in Visalia photos
• Two recruitment/HR themed videos
• Drone B-roll/footage (15 clips, varied length)
o Marketing Campaigns
§ HR Tagline
§ Brochure Template (8 ½ x 11 in., four pages)
§ Marketing Ad/Flyer Template (8 ½ x 11 in)
§ Social Media Templates (Four)
§ Presentation/Deck Template
o Recruitment Strategy
o Brand Hierarchy
o Visual Identity Guidelines
o Contingency (Optional) add-on item at cost of $2,500
City Wide Rebranding/Brand Refresh Scope of Work/Deliverables for $75,000. This Citywide Rebranding scope of work includes:
• Brand Audit
o Provide recommendations on redesigning/enhancing existing templates, marketing and promotional materials and other relevant documents.
• Visual Identify Design
o Create a brand visual identity based on knowledge obtained through the branding and communications strategy process.
§ New Logo
• 1 Logomark, 1 Wordmark, 1 Lock-Up
• Vertical and Horizontal Logo
• Vertical and Horizontal Logo with Tagline
• Logomark, Wordmark and Lock-Up, and Vertical and Horizontal versions in white and black
§ New Color Palette
• City Identity, Brand Development and Positioning
o Brand Promise/Key Marketing Messages
§ Mission Statement
§ Vision Statement
§ City Values
§ Brand Promise
o Marketing Tagline
o General Use Template Development
§ Letterhead (Two)
§ Business Card (Two)
§ Tri-Fold Brochure Template (8 ½ x 11 in)
§ Marketing Ad/Flyer Template (8 ½ x 11 in)
§ Social Media Templates (Eight)
§ Mailchimp Newsletter Template
§ Presentation/Deck Template
§ Lapel Pin (50, metal pins produced)
o Fleet Branding
§ Removable/Magnetic Signage
§ Solid Waste Truck Branding
o Website Content
• Marketing Campaigns
o Develop specific marketing campaigns (including conception, information architecture, creative design, copywriting, and graphic design) that focus on clearly and reflectively marketing the City of Visalia
• Brand Hierarchy
o Provide recommendations on how to best accomplish folding the various City Departments under the unified messaging of the City organization.
• Visual Identity Guidelines
o Create a visual identity guidelines document or Style Book
• Photography
o 50 professional, on-site/in Visalia photos from the HR Library that have been retouched.
• Videography
o One video giving an overview, benefits of living and working in Visalia.
o 20 B-roll, 10-20 second videos
Brand Refresh Soft Launch and Rollout
In total, the brand refresh was on the City Council agenda six times between March 2021 and November 2023.
With several deliverables received, City staff showcased the new City of Visalia logo in the Spring Live & Play Activity Guide, released on February 10, 2024. This provided a “first look” at the logo and included a brief explainer on the meaning behind each of its elements. Rollout then continued from February, as City staff began slowly rolling out the brand refresh elements, including logo, to ensure that the adoption of the brand refresh aligned with direction by Council and the City Manager, that items that required replacement be transitioned first, beginning with uniforms, fleet vehicle decals that needed replacement, as well as banners. This rollout began with the understanding that the implementation would be a multi-year process and happen incrementally as things were replaced or purchased. For example, for the fleet decals, only vehicles that were receiving routine maintenance would have their decals updated.
As other deliverables were received from WTC it was determined that City staff could continue the rollout to internal signage and social media platforms, updating the City logo signage in the Council Chambers for the May 6, 2024, City Council meeting and updating the City of Visalia social media profile pictures on May 7, 2024, with a corresponding social media post
Rollout Feedback
During the period of February 2024 through May 2024, City staff did not receive formal complaints related to the brand refresh or new logo. Beginning on May 7, 2024, the City’s Facebook and Instagram profiles began receiving comments sharing individuals’ unhappiness with the logo and emails and phone calls were received. Further rollout of the brand refresh/use of the logo was paused. Currently, the City of Visalia is working with We The Creative to complete the contracted deliverables and to finalize the remaining items per the contract, that include the creation of marketing campaigns, and photography/videography products. It is the intent that if a new logo is selected, it will be in a format that can still be utilized in these items.
While the process of adoption was complete and the roll out was underway, City staff understand there are some in the community that now have feedback on the refresh. The City takes pride in being transparent and open about the work it is undertaking for the community, and staff members believe significant efforts were made; however, staff regrets that so many did not see the outreach conducted and opportunity for feedback.
To that end, the Council placed this June 3, 2024, agenda item to allow for discussion and potential direction.
Fiscal Impact:
Unknown at this time, dependent on Council direction.
Prior Council Action: May 20, 2024 - Agenda included Item 12. Request to add Consent item by Council - Request by several Council Members to approve adding an agenda item to the June 3, 2024 agenda for disucssion and potential direction regarding the new City of Visalia logo. November 6, 2024 - Council received an update on the brand refresh and approved the new City of Visalia logo, R5-Fox Theater and chose the new City of Visalia logo color palette. August 7, 2023 - Council received an update on the City-wide marketing and rebranding project, directed staff to present a redesigned logo with additional elements and approved a new mission statement, vision statement, brand promise, values, and tagline. April 17, 2023 - As part of the review of the Fiscal Year 2022/23 mid-year financial report, Council made a General Fund Capital Project appropriation of $50,000 for City rebranding implementation. August 15, 2022 - Council authorized staff to conduct a citywide rebranding process, appropriated an additional $25,000 to cover the costs of completing the administrative portion of the City of Visalia Human Resources Marketing and Branding Services, and appropriated $75,000 to cover the anticipated costs of undertaking and completing the administrative portion of the City of Visalia rebranding (Citywide Rebranding). Council authorized staff to utilize the services of We The Creative (by amending their contract with the City of Visalia Human Resources Division) for a project total of $150,000. March 21, 2022 - City Council approved Proposed Capital Projects by Fund, Project # ADCP09 City Logo Refreshment for Fiscal Year 2024-25 for a total of $50,000. March 15, 2021- City Council reviewed Fiscal Year 2020/2021 mid-year financial report with recommended budget appropriations and authorized the Capital Project Request of City Rebranding for $50,000 to be used for initial implementation of the new branding.
Other: A presentation will be provided during the Council meeting.
Recommended Motion (and Alternative Motions if expected):
recommendation
Motion will depend on direction desired by the City Council and could include one of the options six options provided in the above recommendation or some other option as directed by the Council.
end
Environmental Assessment Status: N/A
CEQA Review: N/A
Attachments: Past logos.