 For quite some time now, the chamber's marketing committee, in
partnership with the city of Lincoln, has been working to develop an
official logo for the city.When it was her turn to speak before
the council, Hake said the group had come up with three prospects.
She wanted to use the council as the first of four focus groups who
would judge the choices and comment on what they liked and disliked
about the concepts.
The focus groups that will be involved in this selection process
include not only the city, but the Lincoln Rotary Club, a class at
Lincoln Christian University and a collection of chamber colleagues
around the country.
She asked the group to open their envelope marked "A" and focus
on their first impression of the logo.
Envelope 1
The first envelope contained a logo that consisted of red and
blue lettering on a white background. The city of Lincoln name was
displayed prominently, with a train under the words, and with the
Route 66 emblem being used as the letter "O" in Lincoln.
One response came from Alderwoman Jonie Tibbs, who immediately
said the colors were wrong. She noted that instead of red and blue,
it should be red and green.
Hake asked if that was because of the Railer colors and the
city's relationship to watermelon. Tibbs confirmed that it was.
Others said they, too, didn't like the colors. One comment was
that it appeared the logo was more about Amtrak than Lincoln.
Alderman David Wilmert said he looked at the logo and was
searching for what part of it really hit him, or made an impression.
He said the first impression he got was that the logo portrayed a
community that was modern, moving and accessible. He said it was
missing Abe, and he felt like the logo was focusing too much on
trains.
Envelope 2
The second envelope to be opened contained a logo with primarily
yellow and green colors. Alderwoman Melody Anderson immediately
commented that it reminded her of corn. Tracy Jackson, street and
alley superintendent, reinforced that opinion, saying it reminded
him of Iowa.
The logo also had a two-lane highway winding through the center
of it, and many of the aldermen did like that but wanted the highway
to be marked in some way as being Route 66.
Wilmert said the logo was inviting and implied a mix of history
with agriculture. He said it was the road that drew him in, getting
his attention.
Envelope 3
The third and final logo contained a lot of purple, a color most
of the aldermen did not like. In addition, there was some confusion,
as what appeared to be a balloon was actually one of the icons used
in Google Maps to mark the position that had been searched out.
When they thought it was a balloon, they liked it; when they
realized it was not, they were not as impressed.
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What everyone seemed to like about the logos was the slogan "In
the middle of everywhere."
Other comments made were that depictions of Abe should be of the
beardless version to denote that the city of Lincoln was called
Lincoln before Abe was president.
Others talked about the need for an Abe with a top hat. All
agreed that the Route 66 symbol needed to be incorporated into the
design, and many liked the idea of the winding road.
At the end of the discussions, Hake asked the group if they had
to choose one logo right now, which one it would be.
Wilmert said he was fondest of the second one in spite of the
yellow and green color. He said it spoke to him of what Lincoln was
about.
Alderwoman Marty Neitzel said she'd like a combination of logos 2
and 3. She liked the road in 2, the state map in 3, but she wanted
different colors and a Lincoln top hat.
Anderson said she liked the concept of the second logo, but not
the color.
Mayor Keith Snyder was a bit different in his opinion. He said
the second logo was his least favorite. He preferred the first for
the Route 66 logo and also liked the serif lettering on the city of
Lincoln.
Tibbs said she felt like the second said what it needed to say
about the town. Lincoln is about Route 66 and Abe. She said it was
not about the railroad.
Wilmert again brought up the slogan "In the middle of
everywhere," saying it was a good comment.
Alderman Tom O'Donohue said he preferred 3 with the exception of
the colors, and he would like to see the road from 2 incorporated
into it.
Also in attendance was Kathy Vinyard, who was on hand to assist
Hake by taking notes on the proceedings.
At the end of the discussion, Hake said the process would now
move on to the other focus groups. The hope is to get a general
consensus of what is the very best one. Even if it needs to be
tweaked to become a better representation, it will still be a good
foundation for what will eventually become the official logo of the
city.
[By NILA SMITH] |
