New Vistas In Municipal Brand Identity

The City of Santa Clarita was first incorporated back in 1987 when I was a freelance graphic designer. Almost immediately the new City Council announced they would commission the design of a new logo to represent the city. As a resident, I was excited. I knew my portfolio was good, plus I had done volunteer work for the campaign to incorporate. I thought I had a good chance of landing the job so I eagerly attended the City Council meeting where the new logo would be discussed. That evening I looked around the room, wondering who was there to compete for the logo and who was there for other city business. Finally, the agenda item came up. A councilwoman, much respected for her tireless efforts to achieve incorporation, began speaking about what the new logo would have to express. There would have to be a house to represent our residential community. There would have to be a factory to represent business. There would have to be an orange tree to represent agriculture. There would have to be an oak tree to represent strength and heritage. On and on she droned, listing item after item that were must-haves, all to appear in a space that, most often, would appear no bigger than your thumb. My heart sank as I realized they didn’t really want a logo. They wanted a city seal. Read more