What does a logo or slogan say about a community? How should the Municipality of Meaford project itself to the outside world? How can Meaford catch the attention of potential new business?
Those were some of the questions floating around the council chamber on August 9 during a special meeting to discuss branding of the municipality, and to get a first look at the logo concepts that have been prepared by consultant Linda Reader.
Reader's services were engaged by the municipality several weeks ago to help develop a new image for Meaford. Yesterday she unveiled five logo and slogan options for council and staff to consider.
“It has been a pleasure to be in this community for the last six weeks,” Reader told council as she began her presentation, “I have learned a lot about Meaford.”
Reader explained that she and her firm did their best to incorporate the essence of Meaford into their logo designs, and she also tried to ensure that the full amalgamated municipality was represented.
She expressed a desire to move away from using the apple as a representative symbol of Meaford and instead focus on the future of Meaford. Citing many examples of young entrepreneurs in Meaford, Reader suggested that the municipality needs to tap into and promote the energy and vision of these young business people who have chosen to live and work in Meaford.
“These people didn't come to Meaford for a job at a car plant. They didn't come because of the apple. They have come here to create their own jobs,” Reader informed council. She also indicated that this is a unique phenomenon when compared to other small rural communities that typically see younger residents move away to larger urban centres and return only in their retirement years.
After she had presented her five logo concepts to members of council, much of the discussion and debate that followed had little to do with the look of the logos themselves, but instead focused on some missing words.
What wasn't included in the logos put before council were the words “Municipality of”. While some members of council questioned this omission and whether it would play well in the former townships of Sydenham and St. Vincent, the general consensus seemed to be that it was time for Meaford to move forward.
“It has been a decade,” stated Mayor Francis Richardson, “I think it is time we bit the bullet and moved forward.”
Deputy Mayor Michael Traynor agreed.
“The time has come to just move on,” said Traynor.
At the conclusion of the presentation council decided to seek input from staff and residents before deciding if any of the five logos and slogans presented would be suitable for use in the image overhaul of the municipality.
Below are the logos presented on Monday night. In her media release published last week in The Meaford Independent, consultant Linda Reader asked members of the community to take a look and see if they “got it right”.
Let The Independent know what you think of these logo options in the poll at the bottom of the page.
