South Orange is getting a branding makeover.
Designer Diane DePaolis took the South Orange Board of Trustees through the decision-making process that produced an updated official township seal and a new brand logo for the town at the BOT’s regular meeting on December 14.
By a straw poll, four of six BOT members voted to move forward with the new seal as well as the brand logo shown here. A final binding vote is expected on December 28.
The new township seal (on the right; outgoing seal on the left):
While all the Trustees agreed on the updated seal, the two Trustees who were not quite sold on the new community logo were Karen Hilton (abstaining) and Summer Jones. However, Trustee Steve Schnall called DePaolis’ work “outstanding.”
Village President Sheena Collum noted, for those who questioned focusing on branding during a pandemic, that the money for its development (DePaolis, who has a long history with the community, was the low bidder at $17K) had been earmarked in 2019 and the process had been well underway before the pandemic struck. DePaolis developed the brand with the help of a steering committee, several charrettes and through the responses of nearly 700 South Orange residents to a survey.
DePaolis showed how the logo could work on various surfaces and for many uses. She took the Trustees through versions of the logo sporting different colors to denote different departments. She also noted that the logo had its own font that could be used throughout branding.
DePaolis said the feedback through the survey was “very positive,” but noted the subjective nature of branding and the divergent responses surveys can solicit — such as some saying the brand was too contemporary while others found it not sufficiently contemporary. Again, DePaolis reported that the negative comments to the chosen logo were in the minority.
Collum said she also needed to be educated about the brand. “One of the things that Diane spent a lot of time on… was how the community facing logo could be in print, could be used on signs … on banners. How legible it is.”
Although Jones voted against the logo, she said she was in the process of getting there. “I love the feel. I think it’s awesome. I’m getting more adjusted to the first logo.” She said, “It took me a while to recognize it as an S and an O.”
Hilton abstention was also not an outright rejection. Said Hilton, “I was one of those negative respondents to the survey. Diane spent time with me on the phone. … I’m not ready to vote on it. I’m still not there yet on the tagline and the symbol. I would like a little more time.” However, Hilton said she understood if other Trustees felt it was time to move forward.
Calling the new branding “long overdue” and the presentation “thorough,” Trustee Donna Coallier said, “I’m ready to move forward with this now.” Coallier had one question about the cost of the proprietary font that DePaolis had created for the brand. DePaolis assured her that the township now owned that font and would enjoy a cost savings as it would not need to buy fonts: “No one else has it. A lot of organizations are now demanding fonts with their projects because the costs of buying fonts are expensive.”
Regarding next steps, DePaolis said that the township could roll it out “as fast as you need it or as slowly as you need it” — replacing letterhead and signage through attrition. Collum said that the new brand could be introduced to the public with the recommencement of the publication fo the Gaslight newsletter in the new year.
After the township clerk reviews the process for approving a Village President-guided policy decision, the BOT is expected to vote on the branding at its next meeting on December 28.
