“The fact that they wasted $1.1 million on this that could’ve gone to our school district is sickening.”

Austin officers revealed a brand new metropolis emblem on Thursday, September 4, marking the primary unified model id within the metropolis’s historical past. The web, nevertheless, has so much to say concerning the emblem, most of it not nice.

Featured Video

The design is a stylized letter “A” that appears nearly like a wave in blue and inexperienced, with Austin’s identify under it. The new emblem is a small a part of a $1.1 million rebranding mission for town of Austin.

Austin, Texas, debuts new metropolis emblem

The metropolis presently makes use of greater than 300 logos throughout departments, which leaders argued created confusion. Consequently, the City Council authorized the rebranding effort again in 2018. Designed by world agency Pentagram and Austin-based TKO, the brand price about $200,000 of the general finances. City leaders mentioned the remaining funds coated vendor work and public consciousness efforts.

City of Austin Chief Communications Director Jessica King mentioned in a press launch, “The logo itself reflects the hills, rivers, and bridges that serve to connect us to one another. The colors were inspired by our surrounding environment – violet crown skies and the green canopies of our parks and trails.”

“We deliberately chose a mark that reminded us of movement to reflect how welcoming, flexible and resilient this community and our employees are,” she added.

Nevertheless, not everybody in energy was satisfied. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) blasted the rebrand on The Will Cain Show. He claimed officers “want to go spend a million dollars on a rebrand, get rid of a cross and make it some sort of, you know, a woke-looking band emblem.”

He additionally accused leaders of ignoring pressing wants, comparable to crime and 911 response occasions.

Online reactions got here quick and, for essentially the most half, werecritical of the redesign. One individual on X wrote, “Well that’s ugly. It looks like someone checking the ink on their markers. How much for this? $1M.” 

Others in contrast it to a rubbish truck or a math textbook writer’s emblem.

“Hey #cityofaustin it sucks! But why should I be surprised? The whole city has gone down the toilet!” one other individual mentioned.

“The new logo has stripped away all meaning, class, and character,” wrote @mnwickens. “It’s just meaningless. I’ve seen Captcha tests with more soul.”

“The fact that they wasted $1.1 million on this that could’ve gone to our school district is sickening,” wrote @hhud_c. “It would’ve taken anyone 5 minutes to make this logo on AI. I strongly disagree with this change and think it is an embarrassment for our city.”

One offended individual tweeted, “They paid’ $1.1 M for this?!  I’d say this calls for immediate firing!  WHAT A WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY!”

@crystalgroves tweeted, “Austin’s new logo redesign shows how deeply identity can collide with public sentiment. Personally, while I didn’t -hate- the design, it definitely felt too corporate, like a non-profit for kids, more so than a representation of culture in Austin.”

“Meaning precedes form. When identity is civic, symbolic, visual, and emotional, every pixel matters. Design for connection, not abstraction,” they added as a warning to graphic designers.

The web is chaotic—however we’ll break it down for you in a single day by day e-mail. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s e-newsletter right here.