City should back up and start over on branding | LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Published 10:22 am Monday, July 6, 2015

To the editor:

There are times when the best choice is to retreat and declare victory.

The proposed Bainbridge Island logo designed by Arnett Muldrow and Associates of South Carolina reflects so little understanding of the island’s personality there is no point in continuing to explore options with their team.

Based on work they’ve done for other cities, it is unclear whether Arnett Muldrow can be trusted to deliver world-class work for Bainbridge Island. If you look at their website, one of their clients is the city of Newark, Delaware. You can see the resulting website at enjoydown

townneark.com.

The tagline they chose to take public for Newark? “A New Day Everyday!” You will note the intern-level copy writing error — the one word adjective everyday means “commonplace” or “ordinary.” It is not a synonym for the adjective-noun phrase “every day” which is clearly what was meant for their client.

Do we want this kind of sloppiness in the team doing the thinking for our city? I say no. Let’s pay them for the work done to date and set them free. We learned a lot through this process so far — including the fact that we could clearly do better with another agency.

Some of the greatest minds in design live right here on Bainbridge. There is no reason we need a team from South Carolina to unlock the potential of our amazing community.

IAN SAUNDERS

Bainbridge Island