INTL. REVIEW BY CLINTON DUNCAN POSTED BY Brand New

All Radiation, No Heart

Sydney is a city of 4.5 million people in Australia, it has a beautiful harbour in the middle, mountains to the west and dozens of beautiful beaches on its eastern coast. Unfortunately a common critique of the city is that these beautiful surroundings mean it spends too much time on leisurely pursuits at the expense of deep thinking, artistic or cultural tendencies. Indeed, leveraging the attractive scenery can only get you so far, and just like the Federal Government’s recent effort at creating Brand Australia, there is now a shiny new “Brand Sydney” to help communicate all that is good and great about this fair city for tourism, investment and major events.

Obligatory styleguide filler: branded t-shirt designs.

For 30,000 years the indigenous Cadigal people called Sydney their own and for the most part, they were pretty happy with the above mentioned surroundings. Since British colonisation in 1788, Sydney has been drawing a steady stream of visitors who often end up staying for a very long time (although the first few batches of British arrivals didn’t have much say in the matter). Like any major “international” city, Sydney has its fair share of issues, but overall it’s a brilliant place to live. The great, transformative pieces of city rebranding like the Bilbao Guggenheim (yes building things also counts as branding) or I♥NY logo, responded to real needs for change or renewal, whereas the Brand Sydney endeavour reminds me of a great line from The Simpsons when Waylon Smithers brands Lisa "Springfield’s answer to a question nobody asked".

The iconic Sydney Opera House as a projection screen.

In trying to source materials for this review from the identity’s designers, Moon, I was referred to the owner of Brand Sydney, the Greater Sydney Partnership. Initial enquiries were promptly replied to, and I was told I needed to first speak in person with the Chairman of Greater Sydney Partnership, Peter Holmes a Court. Despite protesting “it’s but a humble design blog” the condition was not relented, and on a rainy afternoon I ventured across town to speak with him. What followed was 45 minutes of deflection and evasion of straightforward questions. My optimism that perhaps speaking with the client side of a major branding project might yield some interesting insights, quickly faded.

During this conversation I grew to suspect it’s simply an interim logo while Greater Sydney Partnership embarks on a year-long research process, what they called a "conversation with Sydney, about Sydney." But since then, however, I have seen the logo popping up in a number of places, the homecoming of Jessica Watson’s round the world solo sailing adventure, various tourism and events websites, and this mass exposure is giving it an air of permanence, which is a shame. The mark does not represent Sydney’s humanity or energy in the way I♥NY does, rather it seems to mimic various characteristics of Sydney in a rationalised, almost logical, graphic formula.

The mark, made up of radiating arcs, forms a central focal point that seems inspired by Sydney’s annual New Years Eve fireworks display. This is a great piece of footage that gets beamed around the world into every news broadcasts round up of the global new year’s eve celebrations, and something Sydney has become famous for. The multicolored arcs are also evocative of our beautiful natural surroundings of beaches, forests, mountains and urban sprawl and the multicultural nature of Sydney, a city where 30% of the population were born overseas. All these layers of meaning are rendered in a very refined, formalistic way — one that has more than a touch of 1960s Swiss modernism about it — and I can’t help but feel the graphic rigour has seen some of the energy of this idea evaporate.

The type is set in what appears to be a customised version of Mr. Darden’s highly regarded Omnes. How someone came to the conclusion that mixing rounded and squared terminals in a typeface was a good idea, is beyond me. Still, the damage inflicted isn’t fatal (though many might disagree), and when combined with a multi layered graphic device, based upon the logo, it is a rather nice toolkit. The identity comes to life in the rollout visuals and particularly on a rather nice website, this time pulsing and spinning with that energy the logo lacks, and Moon have combined these identity elements with very fashion-like portrait photography, presumably of Sydney-siders.

Logo in motion, spinning!

Brochure covers

In trying to conclude how I feel about this logo and brand identity, I’m reminded of another quote I read in an old issue of the Sydney based fashion magazine, Oyster: When a Melbourne fashion designer who had relocated to Sydney, was asked; "What’s the worst Sydney look?" her response was as insightful as it was cutting, "Fake tan, fake boobs and fake blonde, it’s the ‘don’t you know who I think I am?’ look". The logo appears to me exactly that; all outward structure and radiating layers of pretense but with nothing at the centre, no substance and no ♥.

Matthew R’s comment is:

Looks like a rebrand for a nuclear facility. Heartless.

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:44 AM

Cris’s comment is:

I like the new font…But the logo itself looks weird to me…However, this weirdness is different from the one of the Melbourne logo, which I find much better…I think, such a metropolis, so colorful and famous, could deserve a better identity…

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:45 AM

Ivan Cosic’s comment is:

This looks way too close to six pixels of separation, however it’s much more developed into brand imagery. Not sure what to think.

http://www.twistimage.com/blog/ (check the logo, featured recently in many blog posts with “good logo roundups”)

Just my 2 cents.

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:48 AM

shay’s comment is:

it looks like most of the elements were taken from tel aviv’s new branding that was lounched last year on its 100 anniversary. take a look:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/c/cb/TelAviv100YearsLogo.png

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:58 AM

ScottyM’s comment is:

Somebody over at the bun company (SYDNEY) needed to get together with somebody over at the hot dog company (Brand Australia) …

I hate it when identities that should be symbiotic, end up competing with each other. Completely dislike the all caps (more than if it were the ubiquitous all lowercase … and that’s saying something).

Lots of pretty colors, though.

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:11 AM

G’s comment is:

http://blog.dhalstead.com/wp-content/uploads/Josef-Müller-Brockmann-poster2.jpg

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:11 AM

Ivana’s comment is:

Being a Sydney sider myself, I can concur with this having zero heart.

I can see all the justifications and cues for this or that, but in the end, I cannot see the people of Sydney embracing and rallying behind this mark.

It’s a little bit shit.

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:26 AM

AL’s comment is:

Shame. Sydney is so much more than that.

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:47 AM

da5id’s comment is:

Don’t know what this has to do with Sydney. It looks like one of the many “tech rings” brushes/designs you see up on deviantart.

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:06 AM

Rodrok’s comment is:

I guess that now every time I look at a powerpoint presentation infographic I will remember Sydney… thats what I call brainwash

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:09 AM

jlh’s comment is:

The staggered central part of the spiral seems like it was meant to evoke the form of the Opera House, but they don’t really get the mileage that they could out of that similarity.

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:09 AM

jonathan’s comment is:

If the primary color palette has 10 colors, how many colors would the secondary palette have?

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:10 AM

Gustavo’s comment is:

It could be a reference for the famous Müller Brockmann poster…

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:41 AM

Andrew Keir’s comment is:

I’ve lived in Sydney for 28 years and that icon means absolutely nothing to me.

*fingers crossed* it’s an interim design.

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:57 AM

obse.’s comment is:

Looks more like a graphic element for applications than a logo itself.
It would have worked well if they used only type and the arcs just for application purposes, but not that type.

This doesn’t feel like an identity at all.

And OMG that one color version has to be a joke.

On Jun.14.2010 at 09:05 AM

jen’s comment is:

Just feels like this idea has been done to death, and I hate the colors. Apparently am a bit surly today. :)

On Jun.14.2010 at 09:39 AM

cody’s comment is:

have to concur with obse. The logo works better as a secondary graphical element and in it’s b/w and knockout version it looks like a circle with tourette’s syndrome and that’s not good.

On Jun.14.2010 at 09:41 AM

Alex’s comment is:

So, did anyone else notice that the logo looks like water swirling down a drain? It’s even clockwise, which is how it would go in the southern hemisphere.

Also? It was Ned Flanders who called Lisa Simpson an answer to a question no one asked. Just FYI.

On Jun.14.2010 at 09:59 AM

Anthony Lane’s comment is:

It appears to be an above view of stairs leading into a bottomless well or pit. Fun, vibrant colors, un-inspired, totally bland mark that I’ve seen countless variations of all over design forums, blogs, inspiration sites. Those round + square counters make me shutter too.

On Jun.14.2010 at 10:04 AM

Levinson’s comment is:

The logo is excellent. The design is vibrant and so far the ads are very appealing.

On Jun.14.2010 at 10:09 AM

Eric’s comment is:

The shapes are used quite well on the website, but the static logo has none of that energy. The outer ring is too heavy and the inner wedges are wimpy by comparison.

On Jun.14.2010 at 10:22 AM

Paula’s comment is:

“Unfortunately a common critique of the city is that these beautiful surroundings mean it spends too much time on leisurely pursuits at the expense of deep thinking, artistic or cultural tendencies.”

Folks this is what is commonly refereed to as “Cultural cringe”, Australians are the world champs at self loathing.

Having lived in London, New York, San Francisco and Sydney, I know for a fact Sydney’s culture, is just as rich and sophisticated as other large cities, more so in some cases.

Oh and that Harbour, it doesn’t get any better!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sydney%28from_air%29_V2.jpg

Re. Id.
All terrible, what a huge miss.

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:08 AM

Camryn Brown’s comment is:

Reminded me of a conference logo I put together in 5 minutes as a student (not of design) a long time ago.

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:11 AM

Nicholas Serota’s comment is:

“Look into my eyes. Look into my eyes.”

http://crashlanden.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/fantastic-mr-fox5.jpg

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:12 AM

Tommy Silver’s comment is:

How does this say anything about Sydney? Not a fan at all.

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:47 AM

Stephen Kay’s comment is:

I feel that it lacks a lot of character and is very bland, especially the typeface it could be much more interesting. I could easily by pass this logo without thinking about it, I think it needs something hearty to connect with the people of Sydney and people from all over the world that shows something about Sydney I agree with an above comment it looks like they’re trying to reflect an opera house in there maybe, but i think it could be 10x better.

I hope this is work in progress…

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:50 AM

Alex Penny’s comment is:

@Camryn

Exactly what I was thinking. I made stuff like that when I didn’t know what design was.

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:54 AM

Andrea’s comment is:

What is it supposed to mean? That’s what I’m pondering.

On Jun.14.2010 at 12:22 PM

Cindy Gombert’s comment is:

I find some of the secondary graphics more interesting and dynamic than the actual logo/mark. Independently, the mark seems to be ill weighted, so the central area seems to go away at a distance, leaving it looking like a half opened circle. The eye is trapped in the center and is simply not very interesting—making it appear not very well designed or thought out.

On a positive, some of the imagery on the secondary graphics, motion graphics, t-shirts have promise.

On Jun.14.2010 at 12:28 PM

Fredrik Jönsson’s comment is:

Logo is terrible.
The resemblance to the famous Muller-Brockmann also tells what’s wrong; This Vortex is not dynamic, it’s clunky and when scaled to small sizes, loses its ‘flow’. It’s most apparent in the monochrome version. (It’s interesting to m because I recently started with _exactly_ the same shape in the early stages of a identity project for a wind-modelling firm called Vortex, and quickly realized that this shape wasn’t working at any level really.)
The sample applications where the graphic element is extended are fine, but very generic/derivative.

Typeface - looks like they made a Co Text (Dalton Maag) out of Omnes. Not sure it’s very successful.

The Sydney Opera render - come on, you can surely fit a few more logos in that space!

On Jun.14.2010 at 12:53 PM

BlueEyedPeas’s comment is:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/115/273166412_3f87078923_m.jpg

On Jun.14.2010 at 01:08 PM

Brian Son’s comment is:

This is definitely a logo that has little interest visually on its own, but in terms of application, limitless and beautiful.

On Jun.14.2010 at 01:18 PM

Mr MIyagi’s comment is:

The rainbow is making a comeback.

On Jun.14.2010 at 01:30 PM

Jon’s comment is:

Sydney is models in hats and bikinis, deep thinkers, Andy Warhol types, kissers, Janet Jackson and people with stuff caught in their eye.

I’ve always wanted to visit, but now, how can I resist?

On Jun.14.2010 at 01:33 PM

Kirk’s comment is:

These graphics were shamelessly lifted from the bridge.

On Jun.14.2010 at 01:49 PM

John Carvalho’s comment is:

Yeah, this is a rip-off of the Six Pixels of Separation logo. it has a slightly different aesthetic approach, but I can’t get into it.

The execution and implementation is good, but the core concept lacks heart.

On Jun.14.2010 at 02:00 PM

Matt’s comment is:

First of all, isn’t the logo reminiscent of about a million other designs you see everywhere (including motions graphics, like the intro to Sports Center)? It seems like they were trend-driven in designing it–thinking more about how cool they can make their collateral material than what kind of mark represents Sydney.

On Jun.14.2010 at 02:03 PM

Jonathan’s comment is:

Horrible. Since when is a confusing chart an apt logo for a city? At least they will have an equally confusing clock to go with it in the polar clock: http://vis.stanford.edu/protovis/ex/clock.html

On Jun.14.2010 at 02:16 PM

DirtyLibrul’s comment is:

It’s not a boomerang and aboriginal paint, but it’s still pretty uninspired (or inspired by…what?). Is it design laziness or a client that thinks they need something that’s been seen a million times? Something comfortable? Either way this is sad. And how many times do we need to see VAG rounded with a different name?

Apart from all that, it just doesn’t connect. There’s nothing about that makes me want to go to there. Does it drive me running in the other direction? No, but c’mon, the bar has to be higher.

On Jun.14.2010 at 02:40 PM

Chip’s comment is:

Where have I seen these rotated arc elements before? Oh yea!

On Jun.14.2010 at 04:25 PM

remotedt’s comment is:

totally lame.. says nothing about the city!

anyone else see an abstract representation of the shape of australia trapped in a circle?

On Jun.14.2010 at 05:12 PM

Erik’s comment is:

Love Sydney, hate their logo.

On Jun.14.2010 at 05:29 PM

Janhova’s comment is:

I voted bad for logo application, but then I saw Janet Jackson. +6000 points

On Jun.14.2010 at 05:55 PM

John’s comment is:

This is not just lame but looking at the Tel Aviv and Muller references posted by others, does anybody at Moon think that the world won’t notice theft and plagiarism. Yu have an open canvas, a great city…and you copy? Dreadful

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:32 PM

qwertyale’s comment is:

so OLD… it’s 70’s

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:32 PM

Sarah’s comment is:

I live in Sydney. At first glance I didn’t like this logo.
But when seen applied to collateral material it is quite nice

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:51 PM

Sam I Am’s comment is:

Just noticed this Google Ad while on another website that is promoting Sydney using this logo and the word “Sydnicity”:

http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/imgad?id=CMzn7rn1n4753wEQ2AUYTzIIWEfzux68yJs

On Jun.14.2010 at 06:54 PM

Durka’s comment is:

A very definition of a brand is that it is supposed to visually represent whatever it is it’s supposed to be representing. It’s pretty straight-forward. But somehow, the egocentric tool-bags at Moon, with their fashion-worshipping, Louis Vuitton-handbag-buying, decaf-latte-sipping, vacuous, Sex and the City 2-loving designers and account managers have managed to miss this fundamental point. Although, the branding certainly does a fine job in representing the insanely pretentious nature of the ‘high-rollers’ of Sydney… but it achieves absolutely nothing else. A photo of someone’s face with the icon application laid over it with a multiply filter? What exactly is the point of this?

Sydney is a beautiful city and has some great things going for it - it’s such a pity there are these ‘self-appointed elite’ fuckheads there who ruin everything.

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:08 PM

Nic Eldridge’s comment is:

Melbourne 1
Sydney 0

On Jun.14.2010 at 07:44 PM

Yaili’s comment is:

Hmm, instantly reminded of the city of Portimão’s logo: http://www.cm-portimao.pt/

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:13 PM

Tez’s comment is:

Makes me think this logo would be better suited to Canberra Australia’s capital to emulate the masses of roundabouts and the circular plan of the city (with a few modifications). Definitely not suited to Sydney. As well as this its a bit to structured for the organic and supposedly lively nature of Sydney’s outspoken personality. Frankly Melbourne’s logo is streets ahead!

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:48 PM

eeeyan’s comment is:

I’m working with this at the moment for a new Sydney website and what floored me was the complete lack of rationale for the solution. I tried for weeks to get some understanding and justification for what the mark represented, why the fonts were chosen etc. so I could faithfully extend the concept into the website but nothing was available. It feels like a graphic with no heart because it’s a graphic with no heart. Moon can do better, especially following the awesome Melbourne brand, they should have been inspired and challenged to do more.

On Jun.14.2010 at 08:57 PM

Caesar Wong’s comment is:

As a person who actually lives in Sydney, the identity puzzles me. I don’t feel it represents the city at all. Is it trying to say that Sydney is multifaceted? If so, in what ways? The identity offers no clues, and while the brochure covers attempt to address that gap, even the selection of photos that they’ve used leave me hanging.

Also, the 1-colour application is awful.

Another recent version of this concept can be found in IBM’s “Midsize businesses are the engines of a smarter planet” campaign - ibm.com/engines/au. In that one, the sections resolve to a solid, distinct shape.

Disclaimer: I work for IBM, but the thoughts expressed above are my own and not IBM’s.

On Jun.14.2010 at 09:37 PM

Fonzie’s comment is:

Durka, I agree with you 100%, this needs to stop – but be careful that your point doesn’t get lost in (or dismissed because of) your vitriol.

Tez, very astute, it would be better suited to Canberra. At least it would make some sense.

On Jun.14.2010 at 10:17 PM

Christopher Brown’s comment is:

Hey all you ‘design gurus’. Get over yourselves. It’s just a working logo that forms a very small part of the Sydney story. I know it will come as a shock to creative types but logos, tag lines and fonts are a miniscule part of a Brand. Sydney will continue to tell it’s story well, using narrative, experience, example, ambassadors and yes, even logos.

What a surprise? Other agencies and designers don’t like the work of one of their own. The bitchiness of your industry is staggering. I don’t care much for the logo (and I was on the client side of it’s creation) but it is such an insignificant part of the Sydney story we have to tell. Instead of bagging the poor sod who slogged her heart out to provide GSP with a logo, how about offering the join the Sydney Conversation so we can address real issues in our city like productivity, social inclusion, investment, creative cities, sustainability, education, decentralisation and economic development?

On Jun.14.2010 at 11:27 PM

Jon’s comment is:

Chris,

Now you’re beginning to understand the purpose and power of a logo.

What you’re asking and wanting us all to do is the very role of any good logo: to identify, represent and UNIFY.
This logo in particular is repulsing instead of rallying.

You’re asking us to diregard the square wheels of the vehicle and get on board -cuz we’re on our way to the promised land!

Nobody’s buyin’. It.

On Jun.15.2010 at 01:02 AM

Jeff’s comment is:

Dear Christopher,

The point is…. the a logo can be and should be much more than just a small part of the communication. It’s the cornerstone, the piece your going to use to bring it all together. You know, the BRAND.

The rest is just a series of transient campaigns that we all know will change a countless number of times ….. otherwise why bother, just put the word Sydney underneath your marketing campaign and be done with it. Maybe Nike, McDonalds and Coca Cola etc have got it all wrong. Maybe they don’t need to sign off with their logo on everything?

It’s not about like or dislike for another companies work! Industry bitchiness, how naive.

It’s not about the designer/s responsible either. They hopefully followed a brief and a strategy, that has lead them to the chosen outcome. Unfortunately in this case an outcome that fall’s short of the mark. Graphically sound (although not new) it may be, but it’s emotionally bland.

It’s a lament over the fact that an opportunity has been lost to create something brilliant, a truly meaningful representation of Sydney. Not an easy task but one that would be prized by many.

If a working logo it is, then you have heard what designers at least have to say about it. I hope you canvass more to help find the right solution. One that has true emotion.

PS:On Typography

So often we are seeing new brands attached to lifeless and bland typography, under the premise that it’s contemporary, almost as if it’s an after thought to add to the logo/symbol. In most cases it just a font without any ownable character. Have we lost the art of being able to treat the type as part of the communication and have the type and symbol work together? The type should have enough personality to have ownership if you take the symbol away.

On Jun.15.2010 at 01:06 AM

sancz’s comment is:

1) it’s Gadigal, not Cadigal
2) pretty sure that was Ned Flanders saying such to Lisa S
3) On topic: yet another lame corporate attempt to define our city.
all the people in those photos are white, oh, except the token hot ethnic chick

FAIL this will go nowhere

On Jun.15.2010 at 01:44 AM

chako’s comment is:

I guess Particles + Radials are hip lately

On Jun.15.2010 at 01:53 AM

Nymms’s comment is:

As a lover of Sydney and a Melbourian (Sydney’s largest market for visitors and business), these past couple of months we have been bombarded with numerous logos, tag lines and made up words to describe this fantastic city. I’m confused.

Why haven’t anyone mentioned the terrible tourism campaign Sydney is currently running with SYDNICITY @ http://www.sydney.com/

@Chris Brown - what exactly is the GSP for? its website talks about promoting Sydney as our only ‘global city’. Its objectives are full of weasel words and IMHO pointless.

I’m not going to argue with you, Sydney is the city that best promotes Australia to the world. But why the need for Sydney to promote its insecurities to the world by claiming a crown that doesn’t exist. Just be the best you can Sydney.

The logo is MEH and I hope no more than $20K was spent on designing it. It’s worth far less.

On Jun.15.2010 at 02:12 AM

Matt’s comment is:

I don’t think my earlier comment was critical enough, so I’m back for s’more.

1. The logo looks terrible at a reduced size (especially with screen resolution) since the outer ring takes such an abrupt “thinning;” it looks as though there’s a shape inside of the main, thicker, outer ring shape.

2. The red segment (left side) stands out way too much. It’s the only fragmented segment that doesn’t get smaller as the coil winds inward. This throws off the balance (causing the inner coil to be drawn much higher in relation to the out ring. But who knows, maybe that’s what they were going for.

3. Also the logo looks way to cold and robotic, like the inside of a vault-door. And after recently watching sports center (a few minutes ago), my earlier comment is confirmed (that the logo looks a lot like the motion graphics at the beginning of sports center). Eh ehm…go Celtics. What? Did I say that out loud?

On Jun.15.2010 at 02:43 AM

Clinton Duncan ’s comment is:

@Alex;
indeed it was Ned Flanders - as a Simpsons fan I am mortified at my rookie error.

@sancz
Gadigal/cadigal - the g spelling has become widely used, but when you hear it pronounced correctly it’s line ball - like the r in Uluru actually sounds close to a d. I did a c to see if anyone would notice, so top marks to you! And again the Ned Flanders… For shame…

@chris brown
I think you have the honour of being the first client side representative to wade into the comment stream on Brand New. I think other members of the community have made some excellent points, but I would like to say that this blog exists for the express purpose of reviewing, critiquing and sharing an opinion on corporate and consumer brand identity projects around the world (a multi billion dollar global industry). Debate and critique is how any profession evaluates and improves itself - sarcastically calling this community ‘design gurus’ and telling them to ‘get over themselves’ does nothing to endear your cause to them, and I think betrays a lack of understanding or respect.

On Jun.15.2010 at 02:56 AM

Fabian’s comment is:

Don’t mind the site, it caught my eye…but the mark as a brand ID left me cold. This design has been done so many times its not funny anymore…where is the originality in design these days?

On Jun.15.2010 at 04:17 AM

Christian’s comment is:

@Alex Penn: In your opinion, what is design?

On Jun.15.2010 at 06:23 AM

JP’s comment is:

Well, everything else they have done (website, adverts etc) are pretty nice, but yeah the logo kind of sucks at small sizes, is bland and emotionless.

On Jun.15.2010 at 07:18 AM

Johannes Brückner’s comment is:

Reminds me a bit of my diploma from 2005: http://johannesbrueckner.com/index.php?article_id=24 .

On Jun.15.2010 at 07:30 AM

Wend’s comment is:

Sydney = BLAND - DULL - UNINSPIRED!
What a message to spelt out to the world to see…
form of reversed psychology perhaps?

On Jun.15.2010 at 07:34 AM

Go Gadget Mason’s comment is:

Having worked both client and bidder side, this brand smells a lot like it was developed by an agency that knows how to respond to tenders (points scoring)and, not perception creation and management. This is no fault of the organisation which sponsored its creation (though they do have a lot to answer for).

It is saddeningly consistent within government (state and local), that branding projects are won by those organisations who understand how to put a bid together instead of the best company for the project. This usually comes down to one of two issues, lack of understanding by commercial entities when bidding for government work or (seen this many times) laziness on behalf of the bidding agency (not addressing the evaluation criteria, not reading the tender or RFQ accurately, etc).

My two cents worth: This branding is next to useless; it neither promotes feeling or a perception. Brand is about the ‘intangible’ and the designers here don’t seem to have found the right balance between the client’s wants and the correct outcome.

On Jun.15.2010 at 08:25 AM

Go Gadget Mason’s comment is:

Apologies, just noted GSP is a ‘private-sector’ organisation - Which makes it all the worse, they have a free reign to make great choices with great agencies who know what they are doing. Wonder how they ended up with this?

On Jun.15.2010 at 08:28 AM

Rich’s comment is:

http://historiarte.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/swl11169.jpg

On Jun.15.2010 at 09:08 AM

Marie’s comment is:

Nice copy of Ministry Culture of the Czech Rep., http://www.mkcr.cz/

On Jun.15.2010 at 09:11 AM

Zanda’s comment is:

It could do with some more shapes and colours dont ya think?

On Jun.15.2010 at 09:40 AM

James D. Nesbitt’s comment is:

It’s funny. My partner and I did a mark very similar to this for the world’s largest drilling company (think Chunnel). There it made sense as an abstraction, here I’m unsure what to make of it.

On Jun.15.2010 at 12:03 PM

Jung’s comment is:

inspired by muller brockmann perhaps…except it was done with much more sophistication…

On Jun.15.2010 at 12:39 PM

Gunter Soydanbay’s comment is:

I have never been to Sydney but based on the things I heard and saw on TV, I would use the following 4 power words to describe this city:
Colourful
Modern
Warm (weather and human interaction-wise)
Remote (far)
The new logo is modern and colourful so I like that aspect. However, they didn’t use warm colours so that is a little bit disappointing. Also the shape is rather mechanical. So that one fails for me. Finally, the city is pretty far to the rest of the world so I would expect something more welcoming. The new logo does not do that well either.
Overall, I liked most of it. I think warmer colour choices would have made a huge difference.

On Jun.15.2010 at 03:15 PM

Andy T’s comment is:

Melbourne 1, Sydney 0.

On Jun.15.2010 at 08:44 PM

Bev Dawson’s comment is:

Being of the older demographic and being of the 50 something variety, I agree with Mr Duncan’s observations - cold, heartless and yes it strangely does look like water going down a drain. Growing up in Sydney all those years ago with vibrant, multicultural, mindfull Sydneysiders was heady. Now living in the Hinterland in Queensland I find most people that lived in Sydney ‘in those days’ now live in Queensland. Not quite sure what this says about that beautiful gem now, but cold and heartless does come to mind….

On Jun.15.2010 at 11:00 PM

Adam’s comment is:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/23/Insilicocover.jpg

On Jun.16.2010 at 05:05 AM

Rich’s comment is:

http://www.blanka.co.uk/Design/Arrival/Unix_Timestamp/Progression

On Jun.16.2010 at 08:55 AM

shiribt’s comment is:

It kind of reminds me of this:
http://www.sustainablecityblog.com/2009/04/tel-aviv-sustainability-conference/

On Jun.16.2010 at 10:01 AM

Brandon’s comment is:

Those Y’s are terribly off. That typeface choice is terrible. The mark itself is okay, but it is ruined by that choice of font. Terrible.

On Jun.16.2010 at 12:04 PM

Shackles Murphy’s comment is:

It looks great next to the NSW Government’s ‘waratah’ logo

On Jun.16.2010 at 10:24 PM

Matt’s comment is:

Foul. Looks like a glitchy tv spot that SBS would do. And Ned Flanders said that line about Lisa in “Hurricane Neddy”, not Waylan Smithers.

On Jun.17.2010 at 12:08 AM

Kris’s comment is:

As a Sydney sider this does absolutely nothing for me. From a design stand point the circular device looks unbalanced. I think it works ok when enlarged on the other material with the extra elements thrown in, but that’s not really the logo is it? And who are the people on all the posters? Why not try and find something uniquely Sydney instead of putting in random chumps that could be from any country/city. Weak. Rant over.

On Jun.17.2010 at 01:33 AM

Kevin Blackburn’s comment is:

Different - not really.
Memorable - for all the wrong reason.
Emotive - not all all.
Flexible - looks like it.
Meaningful - not really.

2/10

On Jun.17.2010 at 02:24 AM

xristopher’s comment is:

It grows from the center outward, but the eventuation of it is like the ouroboros — it devours itself. Growth has stagnated- for what reason? The limitations of the island, or the limitations of their sociology?

The Aussie culture is fascinating in so many ways (I am married to one, and am moving there soon). One of the abiding aspects of it is the tall-poppy syndrome — which can be really refreshing for an American born and bred on heavy-heavy competition. But a deeper, darker aspect, is the embracing of a life that is generally limited only by death, and a hedonism as the remedy to despair.

Aussies are some of the most gregarious and warm people I have ever met. But, their lack of a deep cultural structure causes them to always look to others for an identity — mainly people from the States. Thus, the shallow and hollow imagery. Australia is still dependent on others, like a little brother.

There is a sort of shame in their heritage that expresses itself in the rejection of the Aussie-battler and the hard-working Station manager, for the vacuous glitter of Janet Jackson.

I love Australia, and this stuff does not do her justice. She is worse than this, but better than this too. She is an ogre, but she is a warm cottage too.

On Jun.17.2010 at 12:05 PM

MSGDS’s comment is:

I like the application, but the logo is meaningless, there’s no connection with Sydney whatsoever.

On Jun.17.2010 at 04:16 PM

John Howard’s comment is:

Here’s another take on the intro piece:

Sydney is a city of 4.5 million narcissistic assholes in Australia, it has a beautiful harbour in the middle where people sip martinis and call each other ‘darling’ all day, mountains to the west where many hillbillies from middle America have migrated to, and dozens of beautiful beaches on its eastern coast that harbour racists who go on nightly rampages, throwing beer cans and molotov cocktails through windows.

Unfortunately a common critique of the city is that these beautiful surroundings mean it spends too much time on leisurely pursuits at the expense of deep thinking, artistic or cultural tendencies. Of course, this critique is incorrect, because the lack of culture, art and deep thinking is clearly a direct result of the entire population being completely void of understanding there’s anything outside of their own interests worth giving a fuck about, and being a shallow bunch of self-centred pricks.

Indeed, leveraging the attractive scenery can only get you so far, and just like the Federal Government’s recent effort at creating Brand Australia, there is now a shiny new “Brand Sydney” to help communicate all that is good and great about this fair city for tourism, investment and major events. It is unfortunate that this brand FAILS just as miserably as Brand Australia does, which is essentially yet another tacky campaign designed to ensure that Australians are known is pathetic, in-bred morons who can barely string a sentence together whilst chucking a fucking shrimp on the barbie.

Closing point: everything the government touches turns to a pile of camel shit.

On Jun.21.2010 at 02:06 AM

Jer’s comment is:

Coffee just shot out of my nose.

(Thanks John)

On Jun.21.2010 at 03:06 PM

Michael’s comment is:

Wow!
BAD BAD MOON!!!!!!!!!
So much painful stuff going around; first the Melbourne ID, Brand Australia and now this.
Why? I know why!
Because AD agencies should stick to what they do best and thats DEFINITELY NOT DESIGNING.
You cant sell beer one day and try to be Milton Glaser the other, wake up!!!
This is an absolute display of ignorance and very very bad judgement.
Shameful.

On Jun.21.2010 at 11:22 PM

Paula’s comment is:

I love how the “Sydney Type” comes in upper AND lower case
AND has numbers and punctuation marks.

Hilar!

On Jun.22.2010 at 12:04 AM

kbfrench’s comment is:

That ‘S’ is so annoying.

On Jun.22.2010 at 10:44 AM

malcolm Harvey’s comment is:

Aaargh!
Clumsy and over thought - what is the essence of Sydney that this is trying to evoke, it lacks any emotional connection to what makes Sydney one of the worlds great cities = think beauty, spectacle and the spectacular, brave design and confident lifestyle…can’t see any of that here.

On Jun.22.2010 at 07:59 PM

Zapprabbit’s comment is:

Looks a bit like……. http://captainscarlet.sfdaydreams.com/caplogo.gif

On Jun.23.2010 at 06:52 PM

Nic Allum’s comment is:

Lots of sound and fury….perhaps? I like CitID’s approach to identities, typography and visuals that sum up a designer’s hometown. The city that you live in should be a point of personal pride. I wonder if that was part of the brief in creating Brand Sydney.

As Australia have virtually no submissions to CitID yet, I’d encourage any designers reading this to submit something - and then there’ll be an interesting comparison between the ‘official version’, and what a designer is feeling when thinking about Sydney.

http://www.citid.net/

On Jun.24.2010 at 08:11 PM

Loren Eguizabal’s comment is:

Always been a massive fan of Sex And The City. Fab film, thought that after such a gap it would be strange seeing our old friends again, but no as soon as the open credits kick in and you hear the familar voice over it’s like your four best friends have never been away.

On Jun.26.2010 at 09:49 AM

Danny’s comment is:

Looks awfully similar to a poster I found at ffffound:

http://ffffound.com/image/9e4fa492752bbb6ca67462d528026ea6dfa2f4a7?c=5491979

On Jun.28.2010 at 02:24 AM

Stripeyhorse’s comment is:

This is quite possibly the biggest rip I have seen, it doesnt bare just a resemblance to, but seems to be taken directly from Muller Brockmans famous poster.

It has been applied nicely to the brochure covers though.

On Jun.28.2010 at 08:19 AM

pu’s comment is:

super eww

On Jun.29.2010 at 01:44 AM

RICHARD SAUL WURMAN’s comment is:

LOGOS MUST CREATE MEMORY & SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE BE RECOGNIZED BY BEING DRAWN BY A LITERATE 12 YEAR OLD IN CHAULK ON THE PAVEMENT

On Jul.02.2010 at 04:47 PM

Brockmann’s comment is:

Crap and completely irrelevant to the city of Sydney. No heart, no soul. :\

On Jul.03.2010 at 07:02 AM

Cory’s comment is:

Anybody from the L.A. area on here? I’m from San Diego, and up in Oceanside, your Metrolink commuter trains start. This logo reminds me of that (apparently just-replaced) logo.

Also, the shirts have natural deviations of the Sydney logo. Like if the logo animation were put on PLAY for about 4 seconds. Really, if you must have this logo, stick to it. Deviating within the course of the branding kit is confusing to me.

On Jul.07.2010 at 10:09 AM

kyle’s comment is:

Wonder if Josef Muller-Brockmann would approve.
[IMG]http://l.yimg.com/g/images/spaceball.gif[/IMG]

On Jul.07.2010 at 01:12 PM

MD’s comment is:

It reminds me of the Alstom logo immediately when i saw it. http://www.alstom.com/home/

On Jul.09.2010 at 09:09 PM

Dan’s comment is:

Lots of colour. No substance.

On Jul.13.2010 at 06:34 PM

lenen zonder bkr toetsing’s comment is:

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On Jul.26.2010 at 07:17 AM

lenen zonder bkr toetsing’s comment is:

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On Jul.26.2010 at 07:19 AM

Marcus Osborne’s comment is:

The point of branding a city, state or country is to attract business, talent, investment, visitors, tourists, domestic and regional and international and so on.

Each of those sectors have different requirements for value, influencers, preferred sources of information, communications channels and so on. Moreover, the competition in those sectors is different so the way in which a brand interacts with those sectors must be different.

A brand is about delivering value. Economic, experiential and emotional value to multiple constituents.

This is a lovely logo but it means nothing to anyone but the agency that created it.

Until clients realise that they cannot build brands based on creativity alone, cities will continue to build profitable brands.

On Aug.22.2010 at 11:37 PM