Opinion BY Armin

The Czech Statistical Office’s Czarts a New Logo

Established in 1969 as a central body of the state administration of the Czech Republic, the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) gathers, analyzes, and publishes data about the Czech Republic. More specifically, its mission is to “[yield] a reliable and consistent image about the state of the arts and development of the society according to developing needs of users of statistical service in conditions of changing environment.” CZSO achieves this by publishing documents, hosting conferences, and engaging the public and the media. At the end of last year, as the result of a contest, CZSO introduced a new identity that is now being rolled out in full, designed by Prague-based Toman Graphic Design.

The new logo is based on the activities of the Czech Statistical Office. “Statistics reflect reality and helps to compose a comprehensive and readable picture of it. That is why we used the symbol of draft chart that accurately reflects the pattern of the name name. All materials are trying to emphasize and develop the main idea of supporting the Authority’s mission: to acquire and process data for statistical purposes.
— Provided Materials

The old logo, designed in the mid 1990s, was a very cold and aggressive look for an office trying to provide some helpful information — but if someone had figured out the correct and even spacing for all the elements, the 45-degree-angle visualization of ČSÚ would have been somewhat interesting. The new logo is a simple concept, with a bar chart on the left mimicking the width of the type on the right. It’s elegant, stately, and, for a government institutions, relatively playful. With so many contemporary sans serif typefaces available I always tend to question the choice of old standbys like Futura, but I guess it gets the job done.

In application, on what look like mostly prototype images, the logo has a very nice presence in all the materials, especially in things like the logo on the seam of the polo shirt, the division of the pen, or the spine of the publications. The bar charts used as a background or framing element work fine and provide a good and somewhat flexible structure to create a variety of materials. Overall, a lively yet serious identity.