Click here to read a thorough article from The Dunwoody Reporter about this topic.
Apparently some city staffers are suggesting that since the city is about to move to a new HQ (therefore needing to reprint stationery and business cards anyway) it would be a good time to re-brand. Many people still make fun of the Smart People…Smart City logo and slogan.
The city council said no to a proposed $80K expenditure to come up with a new logo and slogan and asked the staff to figure out a way to do this more inexpensively or not at all. What do you think? Do we need a new logo and/or slogan? If so, should we let the citizens of Dunwoody provide suggestions instead of hiring a creative firm?
Leave your comments and I’ll forward to the city council!
Yes, I believe the citizens of Dunwoody should propose ideas & suggestions on a new brand
I like the current logo.
Done what he needs a new logo they never should’ve gone with the one they did too much like Walmart. They need to do something that incorporates the farmhouse a more classic timeless look
I would love to know WHO votes 80K for a new Dunwoody Logo? Appropriate those funds to our public schools!
No need for a firm at that cost. Opening it to high school students and a monetary prize and they will have many great options to choose from.
Good morning everyone. It’s Lynn Deutsch, a Dunwoody City Council Person. Just want to clarify why staff presented this item this year. At some point in 2017, Dunwoody will move into a new City Hall which will necessitate the printing of new business cards, envelopes, stationary, etc. A part of the 80 thousand is meant to cover that expense.
For years, staff has heard your elected officials and citizens complain and/or joke about the slogan and the logo. For the most part, we no longer even use the slogan anymore. If we are ever going to change the logo and/or the slogan, now is the time.
If we are going to replace the slogan, I believe that we ought to at least give the citizens a shot at it. So I hope your subscribers will leave their suggestions here. I am curious to see what people come up with.
If someone isn’t comfortable leaving it here, feel free to emal me directly at lynn.deutsch@dunwoodyga.gov
Thanks!
Have a citywide contest
One more comment — what I asking for isn’t of course, official — rather I am just curious to see what people may think. –Lynn
I have always disliked the tagline for how presumptuous it sounds. Good idea to re-do it now. As far as citizen input – are we ready for City McCityFace though?
I think a new logo would be great – I was never a big fan of the current one. Rather than spending money for design, why don’t we open up to suggestions from our community? We have a lot of local talent! My daughter is a senior at GT in the School of Design, she has several friends who are design majors at GT and SCAD. In addition, we have many adults who either work in the graphic design field or who are just gifted in that area!
Why would they hire a firm when there are plenty of talented people that live in Dunwoody that could come up with a slogan for free, after all “Smart people – Smart city” , right!
We can’t build sidewalks near our schools cause of ‘budgeting issues’ but we can spend $80K on a new logo. Yep makes perfect sense to me!!
We definitely should have a new logo. The original company should have changed it for us since we paid them for copying another city’s logo.
We should reach out to local artists to submit their creations and offer a small token for the one that is voted on. Approx. $3000 for their idea. That makes it easy.
I’m sure there are talented and creative kids at Dunwoody High School. Why not make it a contest. It would look awfully good on a college resume
A logo and tagline sound trite but they are key to communicating an identity and connecting with the public in a moment of thought. They’re very powerful.
With that said, you first need an identity to communicate. Dunwoody does not have an identity – it has a stereotype. And a very negative one at that. (Mean senior citizens who say NO to anyone who doesn’t agree with them.)
The value in our visual communications will be more evident when our community evolves into one where factions aren’t constantly fighting each other and we have a more cohesive unit that benefits from different POV’s rather than being weakened by conflicts between them.
As for the price – the old saying holds true: “If you think hiring a professional is expensive, wait til you hire an amateur!”
We absolutely need a new logo, slogan and brand. They could get a better quote from a local marketing company, but anything new…ie “Dunwoody, the city close to home”; “Your backyard in the city”; “The city center”; “Perimeter’s backyard”; “Live, work, stay”
Yes, change the slogan. Yes, change the asterisk. Looks too much like Walmart
$80K? i assume this covers the research and creative as well as trademark search? cost seems reasonable to high. i would be surprised however if there wasn’t an individual or small business that couldn’t do it for less or as a barter deal in exchange for signage and recognition/promotion.
As for whether we need one? i don’t feel like the last one was widely used. and maybe we don’t need a tag line, just a simple “City of Dunwoody” and a smaller “Georgia”; or similarly “Dunwoody” and smaller “Georgia” i don’t think that moving to a new office justifies a new logo, although it would be convenient in terms of updating stationary and electronic templates. i do think a poll or survey from the residents of dunwoody makes sense – along the lines of: are you familiar with “smart people, smart city”?; do you associate it with the city of dunwoody?; do you think it accurately represents our community?; would you be in favor of a new tagline and/or logo? (probably need to associate this with a sub-question around cost).
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We need a new logo. Let the “smart” people of Dunwoody and their kids submit ideas. We should NOT pay for someone to rebrand Dunwoody. Too much has already been spent.
YES! New logo and slogan desperately needed. So many creative and talented people in Dunwoody….let them come up with the new logo & slogan – then provide a fun prize for the winner (dinner certificate at a local restaurant, VISA giftcard, etc).
Yes, the logo can stay but the slogan has to change. It is true that smart people are more successful in life, but the “smart” adjective is one that applies to mobile devices!
The City of Dunwoody needs an updated logo and tagline reflecting the explosive growth on the horizon. There are plenty of Dunwoody residents, like myself, who do this for a living, and who would consider doing for less than $80K for the love of our City.
They really need to change the slogan so why not take suggestions from citizens? I don’t have a bright idea at the moment, but please change it!
Hold a contest for DHS and GSU Dunwoody marketing/art students… Winner would have a standout addition to college applications/ résumés. City could also provide a nominal cash/ scholarship prize ~ $1000?
We definitely need a new logo and slogan. The asterisk is ridiculous and the slogan is just embarrassing. We should NOT pay any firm to do this. As suggested by others, why not make this a contest for local students, love that idea!
YES! We need to get rid of the terrible slogan we have and the asterisk Dunwoody Brand – please!! It is terrible. Let citizens make suggestions. I would be happy with no slogan and just a nicely styled Dunwoody logo.
I think there are bigger issues than rebranding our city. I’ work in the marketing and branding world and understand the importance however spending $80K to do that is asinine. Have a contest to design a new slogan and logo and I’m sure you’d get dozens of entries. Even offer a cash prize and I suspect you’ll have more good content to choose from than you’ll know what to do with. And we’ll save tens of thousands that can be put to better use. 10
Sorry, but I don’t see any reason to spend more $$$$ on a new logo or slogan. Turn this over to our school children to come up with some ideas. Couldn’t do worse than what we have now.
Yes we should let the citizens of dunwoody come up with a new slogan. I personally think the slogan is to boisterous. We don’t want to seem to were better than your city.
Dunwoody is populated with creative citizens who could come up with a fabulous new logo. Do we really need a slogan?
I think rebranding is a Great idea! To save on cost why not have a contest?! People love competing and what a cool thing to take part in and pride in if you win. The city council could vote on the best logo and slogan. That could be 2 different entries. Participants could enter both a logo and slogan or choose one or the other to enter. Thanks for opening this up to your audience.
Leave the slogan to the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Dunwoody; they have the budget and desire for that sort of thing. A new Logo for the City hall move is a valid consideration. Even the DHA is updating their logo for the 2017 membership mailing. A local contest is a place to start. I just hope it gets better responses than the unfunded contest to name our newest park.
Yes, we definitely need a new logo! I’m sure that there are many talented folks in Dunwoody who can come up with a more appropriate logo that is representative of our community.
I really strongly dislike the logo. It has no artistry or personality and it reminds me of Walmart’s logo.
Yes to a new logo and to a new slogan. On a lighter note, for a logo I propose (1) a chicken (“Dunwoody: Chicken free since 2012”), (2) a goat (“Dunwoody: Smart People, Stupid Ordinances”), or (3) an asphalt truck (“Dunwoody: Paving our way to a smoother future, one road at a time!”). I will accept a reasonable creative fee of $40,000 for my ideas. Thank you. 😉
Yes, one of the great things about Dunwoody is its diversity of people and talents. I have utter confidence that we can come up with an awesome logo and slogan on our own.
I thought the last “new” logo looked like the Walmart logo and didn’t reflect anything about Dunwoody. I’m a happy transplant and I love to call Dunwoody “Small town living in the heart of Atlanta”.
Yes, only if we can hold a contest to select the winner instead of paying a firm to come up with it.
We do need to find a new logo and slogan. In reading the comments above, it appears that the residents still see Dunwoody as a place they want to feel like a small town and be family oriented. The actions of our city government are not necessarily reflecting that with all the road expansion to accommodate those who use our city as a short cut, and the focus on attracting high density development.
No! total waste of tax $$$$
It seems like a good time to change the logo (since so much has to be reprinted anyway). The ideas to have a contest for students or citizens sounds like a good way to get a new tag line. Just removing the asterisk from our current logo would be an improvement, but I’m sure someone could come up with a better slogan too.
Yes, we need a better logo and tag line. And it should be created by a professional branding firm that has studied the city’s history, demographic & psychographic research and understands our economic development goals. The $80,000 expense might not be too high with all the items that are included in it (see Lynn Deutsch’s comment – although who prints letterhead anymore?). Maybe a way to ensure we get something that’s more reflective of the community this time is to convene a volunteer team of five or so marketing professionals who live in Dunwoody (there are many of us) to review the options and provide well-informed feedback to the City Council?
Ask local high school students to offer suggestions.