3
I must first say that I have
personality of the city and the
never visited Melbourne (nor
rich visual landscape in which
Australia for that matter) so
it thrives.Yesterday, Lord Mayor
any and all opinions about
Robert Doyle unveiled a new
how this identity reference the
identity that will represent the
peculiarities of the city are
City of Melbourne, and provided
based on mere speculation
plenty of rationale behind the
and interpretation from afar.
new identity replacing a logo
But it doesn’t take a local to
designed in the early 1990s.
definittions
1 0 /
recognize the progressive 4
A. Symbol
The ‘M’ element in all colour versions.
Doyle B. Type
our brandMark
announces the new identity.
The ‘City of Melbourne’ identity is
the epitome of good design; it personifies
vibrant, cool city Melbourne is today and be in the future.
he configuration of the symbol (A) and T the type (B).
“The new identity will deliver more impact,
s e
be stronger, more flexible and reduce confusion as to who is delivering services. D. Brandmark
It will build greater long term identification
The brandmark (D) is the ‘M’ symbol in
and align with best practice around the any of it’s versions (A), the type ‘City of
Melbourne’ in either one or two lines (B) world.”when used together in either lock-up (C).
A+B+C=D
“The new brand is strong and leading edge and will be instantly recognised as belonging to the City of Melbourne.”
Critical Analysis
d u t
Melbourne, synonymous with the modern,
about this logo and it walks a fine line between
trendy-and-useless and progressive-and-defining,
The brandmark must always appear in the proportions shown, and no attempt should be made to redraw, stretch, squeeze or distort the brandmark in any way.
“The ‘M’ design will become an icon for The words ‘City of Melbourne’.
will
There is something very appealing and avant garde
It comprises of two elements: The Symbol The Type
Lord Mayor Robert
continue to C. Lock-up
/ y
The City of Melbourne brandmark is a visual representation of our brand, and its integrity must be maintained at all times.
6
s
Colour palette
When used in a sponsorship capacity, the City of Melbourne colour palette consists of 2 variations – the ‘corporate’ blue and green as appears on page 4 and the ‘mono’ versions as per the additional examples on the same page.
Colour uSAge
but I think it definitely swings to the latter. There
is a really great tension created by the detail and
overlay on the left side of the M and how it resolves into something more simple on the right side. The
and represents the city with both class and
gradients are subtle and help add a sense of depth
elegance, cleverly applying on trend design style,
and breadth that you would not get with a flat logo,
colour, shape and geometry to maximize a positive
which is clearly evident in the 1-color application
audience reception. I and many other graphic
where the logo looks like a bad diagram in progress
designers have tried to replicate this identity but
and loses its enigmatic feeling from the color
often fail due to the near perfect execution of
version. The type selection is also unconventional
this logo in the first place, it is the inspiration that
and helps set apart the City of Melbourne from all
can be drawn from this identity that is so useful.
other international cities with common, lowercase
Drawing on the successful elements of this logo
sans serifs. As the spreads below show, this
should enable me to implement similar techniques
identity has impact and adaptability beyond the
and style within my identity, such as the subtle
logo and looks remarkably vibrant, dynamic and
colour gradients or opposing polygonal lines, which
multi faceted, which is how I imagine the City of
are fundimental to this idenitys success.
Melbourne to be.
BACkgrounD Colour - DArk