Brisbane logo design made by US designer Caleb Nugent calls for meeting with mayor
The US designer who came up with a genius logo for the city ahead of the 2032 Olympics has now made a plea to the city’s mayor. HAVE YOUR SAY
The designer who coined a Brisbane “rebrand” inspired by the city’s famous river says he would love to meet with Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner “if the opportunity were to present itself”.
US-based brand designer Caleb Nugent made waves this week when he unveiled a clever new logo for Brisbane with a “B” based on a flowing curve of the river.
His design drew praise from many who saw his video on Instagram and Mr Schrinner even invited Mr Nugent to visit Brisbane in person, although he did not offer to fund any trip.
Speaking to The Courier-Mail from his home in Oregon on the US west coast, Mr Nugent said he would love to visit Brisbane.
“I appreciate the Mayor’s generosity in offering his time and I’m grateful for his kind words,” he said.
“I would be delighted to come, visit the city, and meet with him if the opportunity were to present itself.
“My wife and I would love to take a trip down, far more than we would have before this project.
“Of course the Olympics are exciting as well... we are huge fans of the Olympics and find all of it fascinating.”
Mr Nugent admitted he knew very little of Brisbane before he received a plea from the Instagram account @brisbane to come up with a rebrand for the city, but was excited by what he now knew.
“I’ve been particularly amazed at the amount of unique restaurants and cool experiences,” he said.
“It’s always daunting to unveil or suggest any new logo/brand design on social media, even more so when it’s a concept for a city I know very little about, so it was quite refreshing to see a generally widespread excitement for the design.
“As a non-local, I half expected push-back, or perhaps to realize that I overlooked a significant aspect of life in Brisbane, but was quite surprised by the amount of support for the design.”
He said he felt like the Brisbane River was a key part of the city’s identity when it came to designing his logo.
“I’m looking through general pictures of the city and 90 per cent of them or more include the river,” he said.
“I also looked briefly at a number of tourism sites where many activities relating to the river were presented.
“The most significant detail to me about using the river was the fact that, though everything else about Brisbane may change over time, the river is highly unlikely to ever look different than it does right now.”
While most of the comments on Mr Nugent’s Instagram page was complimentary of his design, a few took exception to his mangled pronunciation of Briz-Bain, which he has attempted to remedy.
“Pronunciation is still a work in progress,” he said.
“I’ve got it down most the time but every now and then a ‘Bain’ slips in and I have to correct myself.”
On Monday Nugent, founder of the BrandFoundy Collective, shared an exchange on Instagram with his 9000 followers where he had been asked by the Insta account @Brisbane to develop a rebrand for the River City.
He said he initially dismissed the request as he “was not feeling the rebrand for a whole city I had never been to” but after a follow-up prompt four months later he leapt into action.
“But I don’t know anything about Brisbane because I have never been there,” he said.
“So I do some research, can I find any cool buildings, taglines, animals, anything that would give me some sort of a feel for the logo design … I decide to take a walk around the city of Brisbane via Google Earth and I stumble upon something interesting.
“Do you know what shape the central river that runs through the centre of Brisbane happens to be?
“A B! How perfect is that?”
With that inspiration, he was able to tinker with a logo tailoring the curve into the B for a new design.
By Monday morning, Nugent’s video had received almost 200 comments, with most praising the design though many also cringed at his mispronunciation of Briz-Bayne.
“Pay this man!” one user wrote.
“Brisbane City Council, I think this fellow needs to be on your radar,” wrote another.
“Love this!” wrote a third.
“It needs a bin chicken (ibis) otherwise perfection.”
Queensland Tourism Industry Association CEO Tash Wheeler said Nugent’s effort was “a clever reveal”, but backed our own tourism marketing bodies to tell Brisbane’s story.
“Turning the river into a ‘B’ is a neat nod to who we are as a river city... hats off to the creator,” she said.
“At the same time, Brisbane’s identity is in very talented hands here at home.
“BEDA (Brisbane Economic Development Agency) and their creative partners have positioned the city confidently as we head toward 2032, and industry is right behind that.
“Viral ideas like this are a fun remix of the story we’re already telling.”
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said it was good to see the city’s profile growing and invited Nugent to visit the city himself.
“I love seeing people getting excited about the huge opportunity Brisbane now has to build a big global profile,” he said.
“Caleb’s concept is the latest in a stream of creative ideas coming forward from people keen to help pitch Brisbane to the world.
“It’s a reminder that the 2032 Games will take us to the next level in a way that would never happen otherwise.
“It’s great to see creators discovering Brisbane and sharing their take on our city.
“Our river is the heartbeat of Brisbane and home to incredible food, culture and experiences.
“As Australia’s lifestyle capital, some of Brisbane’s best qualities, like our weather and our people, can only be experienced in person.
“I’d love to personally welcome Caleb to experience that for himself.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor clarified that the invitation did not extend to paying for Nugent to visit Brisbane, but rather that he would gladly meet with him if he decided to travel Down Under.
Revealed: Foreshore revamp makes way for river stadium
