New Downtown Phoenix Logo

[Yuri Artibise]

The Downtown Phoenix Partnership has a new logo, replacing the Copper Square branding that never caught on. It is intended to encourage more people being interested in living, working and playing downtown.

Personally, while dropping the Copper Square moniker was a good idea (as Phoenix was all about health and agriculture, not copper which was elsewhere in the state), I find that the new logo misses the boat, by a decade or so -- the 'X' concept, which i assuem is intended to mean X marks the spot, reminds me instead of all the 'X' treme branding that was going on in the 1990's (or perhaps we are hosting the next edition of the X-Gamers?). At the same time, the lime green harkens back to the 1980s. It is also out of sync with the much more cosmopolitan image of downtown as reflected in the new downtown buildings and light rail.

My verdict -- keep the Downtown Phoenix name, find a new logo, but then again I'm not a graphic designer.

What's your take?

[Yuri Artibise]

Here's the logo again, as it doesn't seem to appear with my original post:

[Yuri Artibise]

Here is how David Roderique, the President/CEO of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership.
explained the logo design process that was sent to a friend of mine:

"... This has been a lengthy process, and we knew going in that we were going to have a certain number of people who weren’t going to like what was developed – no matter what the choice was there were bound to be some concerns. You are correct in that the Copper Square name never really worked and had to be changed -- in the research that led up to this decision, the vast majority of folks felt that the “Downtown Phoenix” name was where we needed to go, rather than trying to invent some new name. The process that our branding consultant (SHR Perceptual Management – who has done branding work for all sorts of companies ranging from Volkswagon to IBM to PetsMart) went through was very extensive, and included focus groups with consumers and stakeholders. They developed a series of possible concepts, which we narrowed down through meetings with numerous downtown stakeholders – including the Partnership Board, the Mayor and City Council, city staff, the Phoenix Chamber, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Phoenix Community Alliance, Roosevelt Row, Artlink, etc. There wasn’t a single concept that everyone loved, but this was the one that gathered the highest level of support.

Attached are a few of the powerpoint slides from the presentation SHR made to our Board yesterday. The first slide explains the brand identity we are trying to portray. The second shows some of the visual clues that they pulled out of their “sensory positioning” process prior to developing the concepts. The third and fourth slides explain how this concept meets the rationale that was presented. The fifth one shows some concepts for possible applications that could be developed – one of our key criteria was that it had to be complementary to the existing copper color used throughout downtown, since we are going to have to continue to use that color for the time being due to budget constraints."

[Bob Guidry]

Here's my version of Phoenix.....Arizona's Hottest Destination!

Bob Guidry
Thunder Thoughts, Inc.
[e-mail]

[Melinda Alexander]

I don't like the colors.
I am ok with the X.
Part of me is tired and overstimulated from constant hype and marketing and hoopla and boosterism that comes with living here. Part of me is also partial to whatever I get used to. I had grown fond of Copper Square! That it was ridiculous was part of its charm! I suppose I am not the market demographic for these branding attempts though. Note - almost every time I am on the light rail there are people peering out the windows and pointing out buildings to each other. There are a lot of people who haven't been downtown ever, or for a long time! What do you think of those new wayfinding signs?

[eric montgomery]

it was dated before it came out. i am a graphic designer and i agree - it is not so good...