Ames Council Places Logo Discussion on Hold

Residents who haven't had a chance to say how they feel about Ames potential logo, an abstract letter A with a forward arrow, still have time to speak.

Ames City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to table its logo discussion because some members of council were not present at the time.

Susan Gwiasda, City of Ames Public Relations Officer, received about 100 comments on the abstract letter A with an arrow design, 25 of those came through .

She said a majority of feedback was , but that's a common trend in responding.

Facebook comments were posted in an earlier AmesPatch . Gwiasda received about 75 other comments via email which were made available to council.

“...The problem I see with the logo is it reminds me of the logo for "Adobe" and their icon for Adobe "Flash Player". In fact, the instant I saw it I thought "Adobe,” one woman wrote.

Some just didn't like the color and said they preferred the logo in green.

“There is something very important in keeping green in the city logo (my opinion) ... the reinforcement of our 'green' energy, our forever growing intentions,” one woman wrote.

Others were just not able to make out the abstract design.

“To me it appears to be incomplete and not really represent anything at all. My first impression of this logo is a resounding, 'What is this thing, anyway?'”

So far the city hasn't invested a single cent in the logo's design.

A consultant recommended in June that the city adopt a new logo to match its vision statement and that the logo be shared with other groups that promote Ames.

Ames Chamber of Commerce, Ames Convention and Visitor's Bureau and the happened to be designing a shared logo during the city's visioning process, which began in January and incorporated the community's statement into their design.

The City Council received information on the logo Aug. 9 and requested on the logo in the color red to match Iowa State University's colors. The logo's designer PUSH Branding and Design recommended that each entity use the logo in a different color.

The City's current logo, a green diamond with a blue swish, is the result of an internal contest and has been used for at least the last 15 years.

Gwiasda said if a new logo was selected the town would use the new logo as materials ran out. They would continue to use cards and letterheads and reorder supplies with the new logo when it came time. Water towers that were painted recently would remain in the current green and blue.