Super City Logo Competition

The Designers Institute of New Zealand has expressed disappointment and concern that the design profession has not been involved in any consultation to date about a public competition to design a new logo for Auckland’s Super City.

Sean McGarry, president of dinz, the national organisation representing professional designers, said that the branding of the Super City was vitally important for the future of the city as it would represent Auckland on a national and international stage. However, he said that deciding a logo through such a competition “undermines the value of a quality strategy-led design process.”

Mr McGarry points out that most high profile brands are the result of complex strategy work. They have had the benefit of many professional hours of expert work invested in them to make them look distinctive, to position a city, company or organisation correctly, and most importantly, to convey the organisation’s values.

Said Mr McGarry: “Good design, while it might appear to look simple, is usually the result of indepth research, a number of concept designs, and then a roll out of a complete identity programme.”

He also queried why there was not a professional branding expert or professional designer on the judging panel, which includes art consultant Hamish Keith, artist Dick Frizzell, Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey and designer Karen Walker, among others.

“You would think that the authors of this initiative would have dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s through a process of design due diligence, consultation and engagement.

“The lack of vision, professional engagement and consultation with this whole process will make us look rather foolish when the eyes of the world turn to New Zealand next year.”

Brand strategist and dinz member, Brian Richards, calls the competition “MMP Design by popular consent” and a “beauty contest at best.”

Mr Richards said he could not imagine world class cities such as Glasgow, New York or Berlin throwing open their city’s branding to a public competition. He said the competition will result in a “logo carnival with no central ethos or brand to explain the desired outcome.”

Cathy Veninga, Chief Executive of dinz, also described the competition as a “lost opportunity.”

“Auckland is home to many world class brand strategy and graphic design firms, many of whom consistently win awards. . . . Let’s not even mention what such a competition can potentially do to the credibility of design and our international reputation as a design led innovative nation.”

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