Auckland Logo Competition - Another Carnival Logo - Comments from Designers
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DINZ and DINZ Members and interested parties respond to the announcement that they new Super City for Auckland will have a logo designed by competition.
DINZ and DINZ Members and interested parties respond to the announcement that they new Super City for Auckland will have a logo designed by competition. and to be judged by a panel, which includes art consultant Hamish Keith, artist Dick Frizzell, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey and designer Karen Walker.
Daniel
I believe it points to the fact that good design is not sufficiently appreciated in our country, and more disappointingly often not even on a professional level.
I encounter this fact everyday in the wop-wops of Coromandel, but I believe it is a general aspect of New Zealand culture, unfortunately. While the 'she'll be right mentality' has had its place in the past to allow getting on with limited resources and without frustration, it will always be an obstacle in achieving any significant level of quality and sophistication when the resources are actually available, and will cause frustration rather than avoid it.
As the Designers Institute of New Zealand I think we have a great opportunity to educate people and promote the benefits of quality, i.e. in our case good design, and what is involved to achieve any significant level of quality in design. Maybe we can do even more than we have done so far to get the message through to decision makers, and also to the general public.
Dean
Just a quick note : there is nothing stopping the commercial graphic designers entering this 'competition'. Sometimes there are very creative ideas spawned from people who may not necessarily be employed within the design industry. I think this is a great opportunity for a great number of people. Let's be honest, 90% of the submissions may not get past 1st base, but hey, it was an opportunity...
Kristin
All I can say to this, after 10 years in New Zealand, is that New Zealand, in all genres suffers from the DIY syndrome, and unwilling to pay for professional service - which I have not seen much of elsewhere in the world. Good luck, let them remain dimwits.
Kylie
As a design professional, I completely agree with the sentiments voiced here and would say this process is nothing more than a glorified colouring competition.
Nicki
I totally agree with Brian however expect the motivations are really because whoever is in the drivers seat for the competition is either looking for a cheap way out or doesnt know any better??
I find it interesting that a logo which I developed together with a senior graphics person called Clay back in the early 90's is still relatively unchanged for the Auckland Tourism logo - I think some extra swirls have been added!
Is Brian calling brand strategists to action??
If a team wants to get together to submitt something from dinz let me know -
Monica
Thank you! So many of us in the art and design world throw up our hands on this very topic. It makes NZ look amateurish and unsophisticated…perhaps we are??? To allow this to go ahead with the beauty contest theme.
Thanks for speaking for those of us with a professional ethos!
Scoop: Super City logo competition back to front
Thursday, 18 February 2010, 10:33 am
Press Release: Newmarket Business Association
Today's launch of the 'super city' logo competition is a missed opportunity for the region's talented advertising and graphic design sector, claims an Auckland business advocate.
"It's completely back to front. The public is being encouraged to come up with a logo for a small group of experts to then choose the winner from behind closed doors. Shouldn't it be industry professionals designing the logo for the public to then openly decide?
“A lot of talented and well qualified designers won't go near it, simply because they'll be up against every man and his dog keen to win $10,000 in prizes," says Cameron Brewer, chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association.
"It seems that the Auckland Transition Agency wants public involvement to help get public buy-in for the super city. If they want public buy-in they should have let the public decide the winner through a voting process. There's a real risk that the hand-picked judging panel will choose a winning logo that then fails to get adequate public support. Where does that then leave the new Auckland Council?
"Overall the advertising sector has had a pretty challenging couple of years. This could have been a great opportunity to showcase the best and brightest in what is massive industry across Auckland. Imagine the standard we'd get if the agencies alone were pitched against each other for the public to then decide."
"Sadly the most talented in the industry won't bother partaking and the public is going to be left out of the decision-making. I really hope this all works out but you can't help but think this is lining up to be another Auckland logo saga," says Cameron Brewer.
Peter Roband PDINZ - pHd3
Do we never learn? I find it extraordinary that once again Auckland City embarks on yet another public competition to design a brand for the new Auckland Super City. The examples of other well known logos Hamish Keith mentions, were all designed by professional graphic designers, not by public competition and I doubt that they were done in one month. Nor would they have been done in response to such a flimsy brief. I would have thought that Hamish Keith, Mayor Bob Harvey, Dick Frizzell, Karen Walker and others on the panel, might have known better. And since we have, and I quote, "a healthy graphic design community" where are they represented on the selection panel? Bob Harvey also suggests that the exercise will cost "next-to-nothing". I would suggest that the result will look exactly that. Cheap and certainly not Super.
Media Design School - posted by Suzi
“Another Carnival Logo” is one way Cathy Veninga, CEO of the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ) described the new contest launched by Auckland Transition Agency to find the logo that will represent ’supercity’ Auckland for years to come.
The competition is open to all New Zealanders and is looking for a logo to represent Auckland come Supercity time, when the four existing councils merge into one. As per the competition website, the new logo will be used on everything from flags and banners to rubbish bins, business cards and security passes. “It needs to be distinctive, exciting, dynamic and reflect the diverse communities of Auckland.” It will be judged by a number of prominent design and business people from within Auckland and New Zealand. This includes designer Karen Walker, artist Dick Frizzell and media personality Bill Ralston. The winner will receive a trophy and a prize package of the ‘best of Auckland’ attractions to the value of $10,000.
A good challenge for any designer, so not surprising then that DINZ, the institute charged with looking out for the “best interests of its members across the different sectors of design” is up in arms about the competition, saying it’s ‘devaluing the business of design’ in an industry full of professionals with a depth of knowledge. Veninga went on to say “that to strategically develop a professionally designed mark requires a depth of understanding of the context into which the mark will sit – social, cultural and environmental, and designers have the skills in which to flesh out and interpret so that the final design is reflective of all who share the city.”
Very valid points.
Media Design School’s own Graphic Design department are also voicing their opinions, with Course Leader Sandra Bartlett saying “I am truly surprised that the Auckland Transition Agency has decided to hold what amounts to a ‘colouring in contest’ to find a new logo. Branding is like meeting the in-laws for the first time – you only have one shot at making that all important good first impression. As a ’supercity’ are we really willing to risk it?
“This is a symbol that should encompass everything that is good and great and reflect everyone…Just look at how diverse the judging panel is. There is so much more to creating a good logo than just asking Lucy in Room 6 to draw something that is ‘distinctive, exciting, dynamic and reflects the diverse communities of Auckland.’ We only have to look to Telecom’s scribble for a lesson in what not to do.
“If we really want to be seen as a supercity then we had better stop and take the time to check our undies aren’t on the outside.”
It appears the winning logo will become the picture for policy and regulatory work, with a separate ‘Brand Auckland’ logo to be used for tourism and economic promotion of the city, making the competition more opportunity for press (the winner is expected to be available for publicity purposes).
Maybe the Auckland Transition Agency is appealing for an inclusive, democratic competition. Potentially they’re simply not considering (or aware) of the implications of the competition for the design community. We approached the organisers for comment, however are yet to hear back. We welcome their response (and yours) via comments below.
And to finish off with a quote from an undisclosed source, “she’s a beauty contest”.
Grant Alexander FDINZ - Studio Alexander
Re logo competition for Auckland
Friday Feb 19 interview with Hamish Keith
Thanks for the airpsace TV1
As a fellow member of the Designers Institute of New Zealand with as many years behind me as Hamish I am amazed at the level of
Naivety displayed by Hamish, Pippa Wetzel and the politicians that have launched the logo competition...
1. Hamish is not qualified to comment. Its like asking me to critique puplic art. Hamish is a recognised expert in New Zealand visual arts. I am not.
2. Hamish failed to explain the difference between a brand and a logo. Just one example of him being out of his depth.
3. Hamish failed to explain the huge level of financial investment behind
each of his so called, successful brands. Not making that link confirms commercial naivety.
4. Pippa and Hamish fail to understand the value of design. Hamish at least should know better. He is on record talking up due reward for professional artists sculptors and costume designers.
Would he support a public design competition for the costumes for a public opera because its seen free by Aucklanders... I expect not.
5. Focusing on the value of a logo instead of the full brand story is like judging a building based on the cost of the front door. ( The door cost $50,000, what a waste ) I can understand a lazy journalist taking this stand but Hamish should know better.
6. Not asking Hamish to explain the design credentials of the remaining judges is also lazy... Dick, Karen, Bob and Bill all well respected in their fields. None expert in Graphic Design.
7. Offering up a result that can be benchmarked against the best in the world will not come from a public competition. Iconic design does not emerge from the public competition process. Mediocrity does.
8. Our new logo whether good or bad will pale into insignificance alongside the more important job of making it consistently relevant and meaningful to wide audience. Nobody on this panel would have a clue about this process. The design profession does. Excluding them from the beginning will make this important job all the more difficult.
Resulting in yet more waste of public funds...
Fraser Gardyne FDINZ and former President of DINZ - gardyneHOLT
Leading NZ designer attacks Auckland logo process
Thursday, 18 February 2010, 5:14 pm
Press Release: gardyneHOLT
Leading NZ designer attacks Auckland logo process
AUCKLAND, 18 February 2010 – Leading international designer and former President of the Designers Institute of New Zealand, Fraser Gardyne, today criticised the Auckland Transition Agency (ATA) for the process it has undertaken to find the city’s new logo.
Mr Gardyne, founder and partner of design agency, gardyneHOLT says, “It is a widely held public perception, 'anyone can do design'. But to create a logo that is successful and workable takes talent, training and experience. It also takes process, and this isn't it.
“ATA has shown a total lack of understanding and respect for New Zealand’s highly talented visual communications industry. The considered and professional use of our highly skilled graphic designers has been recognised by many enlightened businesses and public organisations.
“Good graphic design comes about through a logical, considered process and the country’s best practitioners are well qualified and equal to the very best in their profession globally. Practically, logos need to be able to work across a wide range of media, and need clear guidelines. Yet, a panel of celebs, many of whom I know and respect in their various fields of practice, are being asked to judge the results of a wide open public competition into which no self respecting designer would enter.”
Fraser Gardyne is one of only ten international design judges, and the only New Zealander ever selected, for the prestigious Milan-based WOLDA awards, the ‘Oscars’ for the best logos designed globally each year.
About gardyneHOLT
gardyneHOLT is one of New Zealand’s leading full service design firms with offices in Auckland and Bangkok, providing brand and design expertise to organisations throughout New Zealand and Asia.
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Posted on: February 19, 2010