EVERETT — The city unveiled a new logo at a City Council meeting Wednesday night.
The design, by freelance Seattle graphic artist Sean Hamilton, is a clean and clear rendering of “Everett” in all capital letters, flanked by an abstract angular shape that evokes a ship’s bow, a plane’s tail and even an open book, as one official described it. It was chosen from among 65 finalists in a public contest that drew more than 850 entries and nearly 5,700 votes from community members.
“In terms of community involvement, we were very successful, probably more successful than we anticipated,” said Meghan Pembroke, Everett’s communications director.
Carol Thomas, the city’s cultural arts manager, said the judging panel wanted to select a design that was modern, simple, distinctive and symbolic, rather than literal.
Thomas showed examples of the logo and how it could be customized for different city departments and styled to something more artistic for banners, for example.
Councilman Ron Gipson said he couldn’t figure out how the logo would fit into a branding campaign. The logo didn’t seem to answer the question, “Why should people come to Everett?” Gipson said. He wondered why there wasn’t a slogan to explain the meaning behind the logo.
“If we’re going to this expense of designing a logo, what’s our tagline?” he said.
Pembroke explained that the logo would only be part of larger marketing campaigns that could include taglines.
The logo will be rolled out gradually, to keep costs down. It will first appear on the city’s revamped website, scheduled for launch on March 5. It will be implemented on things like stationery and business cards as those get replaced, and likewise on new city vehicles.
Hamilton, the winning artist, will be paid a $5,000 honorarium.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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