diamond geezer

Saturday, September 30, 2023

The London borough of Merton is updating its logo.

It's currently this waterwheel, and has been since 1992.

But it has to die, slowly and gradually from the end of November, and I'll let the council's branding team explain why.

We have been using the same logo as the foundation stone of our corporate identity for the past 30 years. The waterwheel was introduced on 14 January 1992, replacing the Mayor of Merton’s crest, which was developed in 1965 when the council was formed.
30 years is good going for a municipal logo - some London boroughs have had three different versions this century.

The current waterwheel image and accompanying horizontal wavy line that represents the River Wandle, reflects the borough's name 'Merton', meaning 'Farmstead by the pool' and makes use of green and purple as its core colours, representing the green spaces and historic lavender fields of the borough.
But water and lavender aren't exactly go-ahead cutting-edge stuff, hence the perceived need for a rebrand.

If we are to fulfil our ambitions for our place and communities, we not only need to modernise as an organisation, but must also change the way we present ourselves to residents, visitors, and the world outside of Merton.
Buckle down, the rebranding team consider themselves to be an essential agent of change.

The current identity, which was created in a non-digital age, is outdated, tired and disjointed, and needs to be replaced with a corporate identity that is vibrant, simplistic, versatile and that will last for years to come.
Ah, you can't beat an organisation slagging itself off for being tired and outdated. It's arguable whether being vibrant, simplistic and versatile is necessarily better.

The corporate identity is an important aspect of our brand. Our identity is crucial in promoting services locally, but also strengthening the London Borough of Merton’s identity regionally and nationally as we continue our work to be London’s borough of sport.
I fear Merton is over-reaching itself on the 'borough of sport' front. Yes it has Wimbledon for the tennis, but otherwise it peaks with AFC Wimbledon, the world’s oldest continuously used cricket pitch and free swimming for under-16s.

We have developed a new unified approach to the use of our logo, typography, icons, illustration, photography and imagery, videography, layouts and graphics.
OK, here we go with the new one...

Hmmm.

The new corporate identity has kept the historical green and purple colours but has refreshed them using deeper and more resonant shades, which reproduce better.
These are also suspiciously similar colours to the All England Lawn Tennis Championships, but I'm not going to suggest that the branding team took the easy way out.

An updated logo includes the words ‘London Borough of Merton’, strengthening our identity as a London borough.
By my calculations 10 other London borough logos include the word 'London', all of them in outer London, so Merton is merely following the herd.

A graphical icon in the shape of an ‘M’ brings together the borough’s places and communities...
Resorting to a capital letter is the laziest of all rebranding concepts (although to be fair Merton is the only London borough to start with an M... this would never have worked in Hackney, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon or Hounslow).

...whilst reflecting its 20th century heritage and its association with Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements.
I doubt that many people, if shown this logo, would correctly identify it as having Art Nouveau/Deco vibes. It's also brave to try to appropriate William Morris for Merton when Waltham Forest, Bexley and Hammersmith and Fulham also have a valid claim.

As logos go it's neither great nor memorable, it's just two quadrilaterals with some words next to them.

"How much did this rubbish cost?" is the kind of thing I can imagine some predictably boring moaners saying.

The new corporate identity has been managed in a cost-conscious manner, within existing budgets, to ensure there is no additional cost to the people of Merton.
Online switchover first, then physical assets as and when they need replacing, that's the sustainable philosophy.

The design work was undertaken by another local authority with an established specialism in branding, rather than a commercial agency with higher costs. We estimate that this is around 25% of the cost of using a commercial supplier.
I'm surprised to discover there's a local authority out there somewhere which specialises in branding. "Shouldn't they be emptying the bins?" etc etc.

Merton is London’s best kept secret, but it has a huge amount to offer – with a growing economy that is generating new jobs and breathing life back into our town centres and high streets.
Whoever this branding team is they need to calm down a bit. Merton is not London’s best kept secret, it's covered 15 square miles of the capital since 1965.

A new identity will unlock the potential of our great borough by attracting investment and increasing awareness that Merton is a London Borough - sending a clear message to corporate organisations and the wider sector that we are open and ready to do business.
No it's two coloured tiles instead of a waterwheel, it's not going to attract anybody here specially. Get over yourselves.

The phased introduction of a new corporate identity for Merton Council will begin at the end of November 2023.
Coming to a Civic Centre near you soon.

posted 07:00 :

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