$25,000 logo junked.
This is a true story.
A new logo created by one of England’s top design studios for the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), a department of Briton’s Treasury. It was approved by execs and managers and then introduced with fanfare and brand new pens and mousepads to the employees. Only then had anyone thought to turn the new logo on its side. And then came the snickers, twitters and guffaws.
The logo was supposed to signify a bold commitment to the body’s aim of “improving value for money by driving up standards and capability in procurement”.
Instead, it became an object of much embarrassment and chagrin.
Read the full story at the Tribune, UK, website.
This happened to me once.
The design I had recommended was a phoenix rising from the flames. But the bird’s head, with beak straight up and only the tops of its wings visible, was just too phallic. Luckily the client thought I was just joking because he saw the reference immediately.
That just goes to show you – check and check again. Get man-and-woman-on-the-street opinions. Review with the though, “what is wrong or inappropriate or just plain silly” with the design, the name, the tagline.
Martin Jelsema
303-242-5975
Trackbacks:
OGC Logo a Brit of Humour?
OGC logo design gets a grip
Comment by Paul Wright
The newspapers here in the UK have been having much fun with this logo faux-pas. The Government tried to bluff it out but with the waste of money by the current regime it is obvious which way the jokes went when the logo was seen.
Interestingly it is worth looking at the logo for one of the Spanish national lotteries which raises money for the blind. It appears to signify a man wetting the pavement.
Comment by cat
“… created by one of England’s top design studios…”
Well, someone didn’t do their homework … Oil and Gas Commission.