Inner West Council: How much money new logo cost ratepayers
It took 18 months to develop, but a Sydney council is now being widely mocked by ratepayers and even a local MP for a decision to roll-out a new logo at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
Inner West
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After 18 months of planning and development Sydney’s Inner West Council has finally unveiled its new-look logo.
However, it has not gone down well with residents - especially after it was revealed they forked out $90,000 for the design.
The council said it ditched the temporary branding it has had in place since the amalgamation of 2016 in favour of a new “visual identity”.
And despite the process and community engagement being done “in house” it has cost ratepayers $90,000.
Many residents have taken to social media to offer their feedback.
“That looks awful,” Tim Dorian commented.
“What a mess,” Kim Hillard added.
Others questioned the cost and why it was changed in the first place.
“I think its awful, the other one was fine, bold and clear, this is really cluttered and the lack of any colour makes it even more nothing,” Anne Lewis said.
“Changing the logo has just wasted ratepayers’ money in my opinion.”
Inner West Council said nine ratepayers were involved in the development process and that the design reflects its “diverse and vibrant community”.
“In June 2018, elected council resolved that staff should commence the development of the new brand, with most of the work being done in house, and after extensive community engagement,” a council spokeswoman said.
“The comprehensive community engagement included convening a panel of nine local, representative people to kickstart the process of selection criteria, EOI briefing for the external brand agency and final decision-making criteria.
“The brand agency helped create the new look and logo for council. Funds were allocated for that purpose in the 2017-18 budget. This is the only cost associated with the new logo and brand ($90,000).”
Social media posts offering thoughts on the new branding began gaining traction on Monday morning.
Newtown Greens MP Jenny Leong was one of many, including current Inner West councillors, who lashed the logo.
“Um, so I’m not an expert in design, but I do feel like I get our community and also get how important it is to have clear text to make sure it can be accessed by those who speak (and read) English as a second language,” Ms Leong wrote on Facebook this morning.
“So what is with this new logo from the Inner West Council?!
“Apparently they spent over $60k on this. Not to mention how much more it might cost to roll it out (and the waste generated in replacing all the signs, banners, materials, etc).”
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