THESE two City of Ballarat logos look the same, but they’re not.
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Can you spot the difference?
Answer is probably not. The city’s branding was changed two years ago, and chances are only a handful of people would have taken any notice.
The top logo is the city’s old branding, while the other was revamped in 2010.
Cr Cheryl Bromfield revealed this week that she only just recently noticed the change as the new logo has begun to appear more.
Cr Bromfield said councillors had never been consulted about the change and she was extremely disappointed.
She claimed history had been lost with changes to the city’s official logo.
Cr Bromfield also said she was concerned Ballarat had lost ownership of its brand and that the 2010 changeover would have been reasonably costly.
Cr Bromfield said the revised logo had lost the top of the flag, which represented the B for Ballarat created after the amalgamation of seven of the region’s councils in 1994.
“I’ve always expressed my disappointment that the original branding has been lost. This was representative of our community post amalgamation,” Cr Bromfield said.
“And as a councillor, I’m disappointed we didn’t have any input.
“The alteration of the branding is not just the removal of the flick at the end of the flag. It’s what turned it into a B for Ballarat.
“I think that logo has significant history and the story attached to the creation of the original flag after amalgamation is of social significance to Ballarat and is part of our social heritage, now lost.
“We have lost something of significance to the city without a new story to replace it, and sadly our community is not even aware of the change.”
However, a council spokesperson said the logo had not been changed, but refined and it had been rolled out without cost and as required.
“This is common for organisations from time to time,” the spokesperson said.
She said the logo had been streamlined due to customer and staff feedback.
She said the refining of the logo was an administrative decision taken in 2010.
Several of the city’s other logos have now also been retired.
“The City of Ballarat logo is used in their place to enable the community to consistently identify council projects, services and initiatives.”
Mayor Mark Harris said while there would be some expense associated with the logo change-over he didn’t think it was substantial.
He also said he didn’t believe the logo alteration needed to come before the council.
“There are a number of functions the council do that don’t need the endorsement of government bodies,” Cr Harris said.
fiona.henderson@thecourier.com.au
