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Out With The Old....In With The New |
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
We Had Our Designs On Getting A New Chamber Logo
One would have to be living in a cave, and that would be cold in these parts, not to notice how the recent recession has changed all of our lives. Whether we own a bustling business along Route 5 or a cozy farmhouse off a dirt road, we have all had to make decisions in our companies and home lives to adapt to an ever-changing economy and financial landscape.
The Northeast Kingdom Chamber undertook this same self examination ourselves when the first wave of economic turmoil hit our region three years ago, examining our dues structure, to make it more affordable to members, and our benefits, to make membership that much more of a bargain in tough times. And while our web site and publications have all gone through a much needed redesign and overhaul, there was always one thing we wanted to change that spoke to how the chamber has evolved and the very region we represent.
I once asked a dear friend and marketing professional what he thought of our former chamber logo and he answered with the honest retort I have come to expect from him. “It’s okay for the 80s,” he said, “the 1880s.” While our old logo, with our name firmly placed in a scroll, is considered one of the most recognizable in the region, you don’t evoke innovation and cutting-edge chamber benefits with a scroll in your logo. We, the staff and trustees of the chamber, embarked on a path to find a logo that truly and sincerely represented the beautiful region we live in, one of the most beautiful places on the planet.
Enter chamber member Marci Simpson, from Dancing Leaf Design, who suggested a very interesting logo concept for us to consider. Marci, a great graphic designer in her own right, recommended a real departure from any design we had seen in the past. She would design the body of a logo, and artwork from a local artist would be embraced within that design. You should take a moment to check out her many designs at www.dancingleafdesign.com to discover all the other great projects she has done.
Although we had a number of interesting ideas and attractive artwork submitted to the chamber as possible designs, we kept on going back to a beautiful mountain village scene painted by local artist Joan Harlowe from Red Horse Studio in East Burke. Going through her wonderful web site, www.redhorsepaintings.com was that needed revelation that she was the right artist for the job, and Joan created a unique piece of artwork just for the Northeast Kingdom Chamber logo.
In just the few short months that we have started using our new logo, the response to the new design has been overwhelmingly positive by residents, chamber members and visitors alike. We actually received ooohhs and ahhhhs when we unveiled it at the Business Celebration, the sure sign of a winning design. We cannot thank Marci Simpson and Joan Harlowe enough for creating a logo so beautiful that you could put it on your walls as artwork. We will be forever grateful.
Anyone who knows me knows that I love to reach for my Bartlett’s Quotations for an appropriate comment for the occasion, and Bartlett’s didn’t disappoint. When searching for quotations about the need for change, I found a most appropriate statement from an anonymous source that stated, “If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.” We at the chamber are pleased to have a logo that typifies that very sentiment.
(Darcie McCann is the executive director of the Northeast Kingdom Chamber. She plans to frame an image of the logo’s mountain village scene in her office.)
Contact:
Darcie McCann
NEK Chamber
Executive Director
802-748-3678
director@nekchamber.com
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