Seconded... more like 1975 IMNSHO.

That's where the one Sarah Horth links to fits better IMO, it is edgier and I do like their personal feeling behind their work. Inclusive definitely.

And we have a winner... IMO, it looks like something from about 1980, but hopefully the professionals will develop it further and bring it up to date a bit.

Seconded... more like 1975 IMNSHO.

Some rangers still wore shirts with the logo on, although it was not included on new shirts, he said. It is also used by the harbourmaster.

Had a look myself but can't find a harbourmaster one either, but it does suggest it's an oldie, perhaps considered a goodie. I do…

Similar?

Well, given the article doesn't have the both logos to compare, and the logos on the website of the Auckland Regional Parks look nothing like it, I don't see how the work similar applies yet.

wrests on that fundamental feature of the entire system

ANYONE CAN MANAGE A DEMOCRATIC COUNTRY

I quite liked Weston Frizzell's logo:

http://blog.prints.co.nz/2010/04/weston-frizzell-auckland-supercity-logo.html

...but I like that one. Simple, striking, easily replicated. Given time it'll build the necessary mental association with the city.

And it doesn't have that appearance of being designed to be 'modern' and 'dynamic,' and that instantly sets it apart.

Dare I ask what everyone else thinks?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fareskilt_46.PNG

I'd go with (d) – a nice distraction, pretending that the amalgamation process is paying the slightest attention to what the Auckland region's citizens want or need.

Dunedin: Rated Highly

No mucking around there

the City Council logo might be different from the 'tourism brand'

Which is why I was describing functions of the new unitary Council rather than characteristics of the place

One of the leading contenders in the local paper's straw poll:

Dunedin: Rated Highly

is showing up on lampposts all over town

What does a unitary council (city and region combined) look like, given that it provides everything from rubbish collection, water and resource management consents to transport planning, tourism and business development, social policy and community venues?

But the City Council logo might be different from the 'tourism brand'.

I think…

It doesn't represent who Aucklanders are (unless it's incredibly well done), it represents the city council doesn't it?

What does a unitary council (city and region combined) look like, given that it provides everything from rubbish collection, water and resource management consents to transport planning, tourism and business development, social…

Strangely the idea that a Logo is going to tell me what my rates do or don't get me (often don't) reminds me of this particular Mythbusters episode. Sorry, that was unnecessary, but they send me a notice with my rates bill, which spells it out fairly clearly.

It doesn't…

I'm certainly not…

So why then is it being treated here like it needs branding?

I'll repeat my earlier argument.

It's a city council. It's not Auckland Identity,

So why then is it being treated here like it needs branding? Why the "so precious"?

It will have one council.

And how many CCOs?

I did a search for City Council Logos.

‘brushstroke central’, as that link from Sasha put it.

How many bits of Auckland are we wrapping into one? I think Auckland Identity is so up in the air, it seems extremely difficult to determine anything let alone one symbol representing who we are.

It's a city council. It's not Auckland Identity, it's the local government organisation. It doesn't…

New York is 5 different boroughs not one city council.

It's both. A "Super City", if you will.

(Seriously, I wouldn't want to tell the New York City Council they don't exist. Some of them probably Know People.

So I thought I'd look for other city logos ... it turns out to be harder than I thought.

I did a search for
City Council Logos. Quite interesting. An awful lot of American City Logos look just like beer bottle labels, I wonder why?.
This one would…

Some of those aren't comparable. New York is 5 different boroughs not one city council.

The irony.
How many bits of Auckland are we wrapping into one? I think Auckland Identity is so up in the air, it seems extremely difficult to determine anything let alone one symbol representing who…

So I thought I'd look for other city logos ... it turns out to be harder than I thought.

Some of those aren't comparable. New York is 5 different boroughs not one city council.

And perhaps like New York, any Auckland Logo will have to compete with that big nicely symmetrical island out in teh harbour. Yes it is banal and done to death, but it is kind…

It explains New York's problem, which is that any city logo has to compete with the I heart NY image.

I did like the I Amsterdam which of course isn't the…

The NYC.gov thing in the top left might be the city logo but it's seem more like a logo for the web page.

I think it might actually be the rounded-looking "NYC" you see in various colors down the right hand side of that page. I'm not sure I've ever…

I can't really find one for Paris ... there are a bunch of Paris logos but nothing that I can find that is specifically for the city government.

New York is a…

The design­ers I’ve spoken to after a quick ring around seem more bemused than incensed about the com­pet­i­tion (actu­ally, since then a few do seem to be a bit incensed, and some incensed in the oppos­ite dir­ec­tion, and there’s a bit of…

Ahhh....the voice of reason!

Having said something similar, I concur. I'm not being petulant I hope, just anachronistic.

My personal feeling is that DINZ is beginning to look rather petulant and our design industry somewhat insecure and lacking in self belief and confidence.

Is it such a bad thing to ask stakeholders with or without formal design training to have a go? Do we really think this will…

heft, cleft, deft, bereft...

I'm on the hoof.

What rhymes with left?

so weave it in the... weft?

heft, cleft, deft, bereft...

With no tree on the hill
and volcanoes off the bill
it's the only symbol left
so stick it in the...

What rhymes with left? There is something, but if I use that it will be berry wude!

I'm done,…

Awkland?

or perhaps something that captures the glitz and glamour of our largest city, while capitalising on all that Govt funded international filmic publicity...
ladies and gentlemen I present...
Orcwood
(Middle Earth meets Hollywood...
as I think Hollyland may be too close to some other place...)

or if we update…

I have to say, I will never look at Auckland again without remembering (ta, resident word-botchers) that it's an anagram for Anal Duck. Which means it's time for a…

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5162/freakina.jpg

it ain't the capital eh :)

comic sans FTW !!!

might not be a bad way to start the process.

already done

Please tell me your joking Sacha.
to engage on the world stage against other city/regions

Steve, it's just how economic development is going now. Attracting good businesses, entrepreneurs, investors and skilled workers is increasingly competitive at a city/region level with marketing strategies to match. Used to be countries. Not my…

But, leaving Graphic Design to lay people is not, and trust me on this, the same as leaving brain surgery to a plumber.

No, it's not the exactly the same. I'll give you that. I'd still prefer my rates to be spent on the services of a professional designer, not…

The council putting the Logo out to a public competition with a prize of 10,000 is a joke. But, leaving Graphic Design…

It is a design exercise to support one of our largest organisations to engage on the world stage against other city/regions.

Please tell me your joking Sacha.
to engage on the world stage against other city/regions. FFS. It's a local Council, not a football team. What are we talking about here?…

... our designers using their creative skills on something that matters. It is because I value the designers we have in NZ that I want them using their powers for good not evil.

I'm sure all NZ designers are touched by your looking out for what's best for them.

aaah but does a manual vowel movement
trump a machine going thru the motions?

Why did this make me think of the poo ponds?

Auckland. You can smell us a mile away.

Anypoo. On spaces.

__In designer higher learning
you get a yearning for some kerning
while undergrads are trad…

a good…

Why not let everyone have a crack at being an architect? Or an engineer?

Don't be silly, that sort of thing is best left to Professionals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO3BFKoh8rs&feature=related

That is one of the things that professional designers do.

but if the city decides it does, then a good designer will simply say "okay, so what are the requirements...

That's not quite my point. By one definition of a logo I do believe we need a city logo ... specifically City Council in a standard font/colour, typed on things…

Pendant. 22 actually if you count the contained space within the letters.

My point is that while you or I might be happy to let our web browser calculate the letter spacing automatically, when it comes to logo design, one of the things a professional designer does is manually adjust…

But why stop at singing or cooking or graphic design? Why not let everyone have a crack at being an architect? Or an engineer? Or a neurosurgeon.

Or even a Dirty Harry? Live snuff on demand.

It's only an A away.

Auckland – A way with the ferries

aaah but does a manual vowel movement
trump a machine going thru the motions?
:- )

but I liked many of your ones...
why didn't I think to put a caulk in it?

annul a lucid cock

Hey, that might have been a hand job, but it is only an a away from the cheat sheet one of mine... Whoops, that might be considered a bit rude.

uckland. It's only an A away.

There's lots of examples of people who are not particularly qualified to do something having a crack at it

I blame these idol and cooking shows on tv for the idea that the whole amateur vs professional distinction is a con.

But why stop at singing or cooking or graphic…

Nu Council Lack Ad

Nice!
Taking a break from basking and tail regeneration, I'll rise to the bait....
and see what we find hidden in there:

click – laud noun ac

u lick a cloud canon

an icon, a duck cull

annul a lucid cock

lacuna – dock u c…

There's lots of examples of people who are not particularly qualified to do something having a crack at it.

These people are called amateurs. When they get good at the thing they're having a crack at, they can become professionals. This is not to say an amateur will necessarily do…

Hahaha

those works need experienced, professional, trained experts? Just like graphic design actually.

Possibly nothing is quite as funny as a graphic designer or an information architect or whatever who feels professionally slighted by this sort of idiocy. ;)

Yes, someone's being a wee bit precious here.

There's lots of…

Here's a Logo for you "Auckland City Council" 20 letters and 2 spaces, I don't even care which font you use as long as it's readable.

I count 18 spaces, not to mention the space above and below the words.

And yes, I cheated.

(I think he was being existential. You know, the absence of expected presence)

Come to think of it;

Auckland. The absence of expected presence.

Prefect!

Aucklands new logo, see below:

que? But, the emperor has no clothes!
or is there a missing link?

The real question is "why can't all those building have Auckland City painted on them and be done with it?" see, no logo needed really.

If it's done consistently in terms of font and colour, then it is a logo.

Stop right there. We are not obliged to have a logo. We could become the world's first No Logo supercity.

Aucklands new logo, see below:

Shall we request $80,000 or $100,000 for the design work?

We could become the world's first No Logo supercity.

True. Although it's only a supercity for those familiar with the historical separation of Auckland into different councils. We're not yet at the stage of Judge Dredd's New Pacific City.

Logo design ... er not for me thanks, but feel free…

Because clearly it's a zero sum game. All money for providing quality services by the Auckland Council is being redirected to a $10,000 logo competition.

Which I agree is cheap. More than I would spend but still not too bad.

But the OP wanted a "professional" to do it. Any…

No the idea that a logo is important misses the point.

The idea that a logo must be changed regularly misses the point.

The idea that a logo must be perfect misses the point.

Well I never claimed the 2nd or 3rd. But logos are very useful tools for an…

would it be too much to ask that it's one created by professionals?
Is this dismissal of design as a profession

Let me be clear. I think design is tremendously important. Good design makes a huge difference to how people live and the enjoyment they have in their activities.

My…

Since there will be a logo...

Stop right there. We are not obliged to have a logo. We could become the world's first No Logo supercity.

No effort is more important than ensuring a city logo is created, by professionals, that can carry us through the next century.

Since there will be a logo, regardless of how ridiculous some of you seem to think that it is, would it be too much to ask that it's…

The idea that logos are only for organisations that are selling things misses the point.

No the idea that a logo is important misses the point.

The idea that a logo must be changed regularly misses the point.

The idea that a logo must be perfect misses the point.

The…

The fact is we don't need a Logo for the Council, we don't need to "Advertise" the Council. Do we have a choice of which Council we pay our rates to?.

That seems a bit foolish. City councils take thousands of dollars off people every year, in return for providing…

No effort is more important than ensuring a city logo is created, by professionals, that can carry us through the next century.

indeed, after all Logos is the Word of God, or principle of divine reason and creative order...
...after all those years in the wilderness Auckland sorely needs a…

Of course the designer is absolutely right leaving such an important decision to amateurs is a disaster waiting to happen. I, as the author obviously…

Also has its own Brand Auckland site.

Unrelated (typical) to last year's Heart of the…

those associations were made pretty widely when the thing first came out

Understandably – when did it come out?
this is the first time I have seen it I think...
if it was used in conjunction with that "Wrought Iron Gates" Ak promotion we all had fun taking apart last…

using this in paper ads and on posters
it would make the word Auckland
very squitty in many applications
and i don't think the A cuts it on its own as a brand

having…

avoids comparisons such as you make – with frayed knots, or something being unravelled..

those associations were made pretty widely when the thing first came out

attempt at an Auckland city of sails logo

Auckland, we may be dicks, but at least we know it!

Hamilton is not in Auckland

Give it another 50 years and it will be.

The volcanic coloured one is here – at the right hand side.

I quite like this logo

hmmm... but what is it saying
Auckland – frayed knot!
or
Auckland – the unravelling fabric of Society

though I quite like the subtle volcanic cone
in white in the middle

I haven't seen it in blue before, only in the volcanic reddy/orangey colours – which I think is pretty cool.

attempt at an Auckland city of sails logo:

"Auckland, Prick of a place" ?? :)

I spent a couple of hours attempting to draw penises in MS Paint. Harder than it looks!

Thatʻs because you are using the wrong tool, for logos I suggest a vector graphics program like the free Inkscape one. For example my attempt at an Auckland city of sails…

An Auckland typeface competition. A proper competition, with a proper prize, and a good proportion of experts in the judging panel(s). The brief would include the following:
– the Auckland logo would be "Auckland" (or possibly "AUCKLAND") rendered in…

It is like forcing someone to live in a house against…

SHORT BIO David Walker

Architect /designer
David Walker trained as an architect in the UK at the University of Bristol. He practiced architecture for ten years mainly in the realm of social housing.

And the architecture of "Social Housing" in 70's UK was stunning, in its ugliness.
Mr Walker, you can…

Because visual quality is not very well understood, then we seem to be quite content to put people at the tops of organisations, who have their eyes tight shut from birth.

Gee, tell us what you really think. The client is always right, except when they're too stupid to recognize…

What else is possible? Why have higher aspirations…like civilisation?

So the cultural legacy of the scavenger lives…

See how easy this design stuff is.

Well, took me a couple of weeks so far, but am starting to get the hang of it :)

That logos a stinking pile of dog turd

Reminiscent of catering at mass sports events I thought

...still a good name for Aucklanders maybe?

yrs
Jaffa The Huff

ps: maybe the supercity could be more of a magmalopolis

Can we do the catch phrase competition thing too?

Auckland, like Hamilton, only North a bit.

There, I fixed it

David Slack also offered a suggestion

Seen Melbourne's logo lately? That's the competition.

Yeah, er, right. So I can choose to have my sewerage treated by Melbourne? or was your point that we visit cities because we are soo impressed by their Logo?
The key to a good logo is "Simple, Meaningful and Memorable"
the other…

But really what it comes down to, is that as New Zealanders we're visually illiterate, David Walker has a great post on the Designers Institute website…

Anyhoo, so 'Auckland City Council' in whatever font…

Edit: To clarify, the penises were going to be my entry into the competition for Auckland's logo. I wasn't drawing them for fun.

Shame it wasn't for Vodafone. Think about it.
No don't.

little skin in the game

Hamilton is not in Auckland

I mean don't get me wrong. I love Hamilton. Where else am I going to get petrol on my way to Tirau?

I will ensure you get charged double next time ;-)

Spoken like a Hamiltonian :)

The ones with the funny accent?

I mean don't get me wrong. I love Hamilton. Where else am I going to get petrol on my way to Tirau? Oh yeah, Huntly.

What's Hamilton's new motto anyway? I wish they hadn't put the kybosh on 'it's more than you'd expect!' Such a rich vein of humour to…

Who wants to live or set up a high-value business in a place that pays PriceWaterhouseCoopers hand over…

Spoken like a Hamiltonian :)

I'm assuming you mean eminently sensible, yet insightful while still tinged with a wistful sense of the aesthetic... and I thank you for your support. ;-)

Thought it was rather funny on TV3 when the 'young business women'…

Seen Melbourne's logo lately?

Nope. Because nobody has, except for design/branding enthusiasts and the occasional grumpy vox pop-er.

Ok, I've looked now. It seems perfectly nice. Better than Telecom. Not as good as the NZ Film Commission or NZ Post. I can't imagine it speaking to me as a Melburnian,…

Seen Melbourne's logo lately? That's the competition.

... and yet there are still people who are not overwhelmed by its magnificence.

Some people think it isn't crap... hardly a stunning endorsement.

Cost AU$240,000. Auckland are going to get their (undoubtedly) rubbished-by-many logo for $10K. Good deal.

I still maintain... They…

They can't lose.

Wrong – it's worth billions. There's stuff-all point trying to market Auckland as a world-class city for visitors and businesses (one of the justifications for this whole supercity palaver) if they can't be arsed paying for professional branding advice up-front. More cheap know-nothing incompetence from the top.…

All the new body is doing is saying :
__"We don't want to pay hefty fees for the thinking up bit. When we have done that in the past we have been gouged…

Can we get you to redesign the NZ drivers license?, I'm embarrassed every time I had it over to a rental car agent.

Et cetera.

What work will the new Auckland Council do and where might the logo be used?

The new council will be responsible for things like policy and regulatory work, dog and noise control, parks, community facilities (halls, libraries, swimming pools…

To clarify, the penises were going to be my entry into the competition for Auckland's logo.

Roflnui

There's a teeny bit more brief in the FAQ
http://www.aucklandcouncillogo.co.nz/details/
http://www.aucklandcouncillogo.co.nz/faqs/
but FFS... 'effective'? What effect?

I think the broader lesson may be to do with the power that autocracy has to make fundamental mistakes.

That said, if it was a knowing joke pulled on them by their designer I can say their money was well spent.

At least their logo wasn't goatsed.

I suspect telecom was plagiarizing Kurt Vonnegut – This is from breakfast of champions, and yes, it is supposed to be a butthole.

One of my favourite authors, coincidently.

I'm a bit skeptical that a logo requires a multimillion dollar designer, but if that one was a knowing joke pulled on them by their designer…

those works need experienced, professional, trained experts? Just like graphic design actually.

Possibly nothing is quite as funny as a graphic designer or an information architect or whatever who feels professionally slighted by this sort of idiocy. ;)

And had they seen the New Dowse Museum Logo before they got started?

I agree it shouldn't be left to 'Joe Public', but hopefully we can do better than these two, and the current Auckland City Council…

the penises were going to be my entry into the competition

Careful not to leave them lying around. I suspect that's how we ended up with the Sky Tower.

I suppose, however, that a great many logos do their job so well…

But then I do have a qualification in design, so I'm probably hampered by my artistic pretentions.

Edit: To clarify, the penises were going to be my entry into the competition for Auckland's…

Something like a soviet-style image of Rodney, with the words "My City. My Vote. Your Problem".