While I know many of you are not Surrey residents, this still may be of reasonable interest to those of us interested in visual identity and graphic design.

I’ve surely noticed a trend in recent years for cities to “remarket” themselves, replacing the traditional municipal crests, with a more modern and business-like logo. And heck, it’s not even just cities - remember all the cries of wasteful spending when the Fraser Health Authority redid their logos, or when BC Ferries ditched the dogwood for the swoosh. Even our transit system got a rebranding when TransLink came into being in 1999.

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And now for the cities logos! You may recall Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Richmond, and Vancouver have all redone their logos in recent years. I’ve also included West Vancouver’s because it’s pretty darn awesome.

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Now that you have seen the competition, I invite you to take a look at what Surrey has come up with. I think they have three terrific designs, while one in particular stands out to me. But first, a quick except for the City’s website explaining the goals of the new logo:

The “City of Vibrant Communities” brand theme conveys the uniqueness of the City’s communities, people, geography, and prominence among other major Cities. It recognizes the distinctiveness of unique town centre communities coming together within a large, diverse and thriving City while embracing the notion of unity and harmony amid urban and rural living. The term “unity” is also extended to the people of Surrey and their shared values within all ages, all cultures and varying social demographics. The theme depicts movement and aims to capture the City’s energy, vibrancy and dynamic nature as a place to live, work and play. While conveying a timeless character, the brand description reflects the City’s strength and vitality and characterizes the City of Surrey as both progressive, innovative and futuristic.

This logo emphasizes the unique blend of urban and rural living. The concept strikes a balance between the exciting future of Surrey’s unique urban landmarks and features balanced in harmony with the wide open green spaces, parks and open areas of our rural landscape. The dynamic yet organic shapes create a positive visual statement: Surrey is a city of the future yet in touch with its natural history. The font choice is professional and progressive as would be appropriate for a city of this calibre, yet modified slightly to be friendly and inviting.

Through its six elements, this logo supports the “City of Vibrant Communities” brand theme. It captures unity, progress, energy and celebration in the form of a circle of S’s, drawing inspiration from the six town centres that contribute to the personality of Canada’s fastest growing city. It aspires to a bright future for Surrey, fueled by it’s diversity of people, landscapes and cultures.

This logo depicts a “City of Vibrant Communities” and reflects the “natural harmony” between the countryside, seaside, riverside, and cityscape. The logo’s six stripes specifically represent Surrey’s six town centres. Yet they form a shape reminiscent of a horizon, a symbol of a progressive future. The way in which the logo is composed captures the energy and dynamism of the community; there is a distinct sense of movement. The ‘S’ shape creates a distinctly Surrey association.

This logo has a friendly and welcoming look that spans Surrey’s urban and rural areas. The rich colours represent an appreciation for nature as well as Surrey’s rich cultural diversity and unity. The blue and green colour palette builds on the City’s history as the “City of Parks” and represents the fresh air, countryside and mountain views, as well as the riverfront, port and oceanfront accessible within Surrey.

There is a vitality and positive energy inherent in the logo that communicates an appealing lifestyle and depicts Surrey as a great place to live, work and play.

Personally, I like Logo 1 - unlike the latter two, the first one is distinctly Surrey and could not belong to any other city. That is because the one tower is very clearly shaped after Central City, one of single most important catalysts for the redevelopment currently occurring in Whalley. I also like the way the three waves represent urban, suburban, and rural - an identity Council has tried to support through developments by creating a mix of housing, or “something for everyone”. It’s a concept slightly off from the strategy of the LRSP, but one which I think, in today’s expensive housing market, could well start appearing in other cities’ municipal growth plans.

I commend Council for making this move to rebrand Surrey, something very much needed as the City of only 14 years old has quite clearly changed dramatically since it’s inception in 1993, and will aid to redefine the City and it’s residents for this new century.

Furthermore, I was quite surprised to see such fantastic graphical design work. The company hired to create the logos is very creative and produced some high quality stuff here. Each logo page also includes pictures of what the graphic would look like on banners, pamphlets, trucks, and more.

If you are a resident of Surrey, be sure to check out the City’s site and vote for your favourite.

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