Change of identity for Manchester

THE Greater Manchester area is to be promoted internationally with a new identity. The new logotype will use an exclusive font named after the city.

Created by local design consultancy Hemisphere, the image has been commissioned by Marketing Manchester. Currently applied to a conference and exhibition guide, it will be launched to the public in a new local travel guide, published in June.

Hemisphere marketing director Sue Vanden says: “The emphasis is on Manchester as a city and region and we have created a new font that reflects the city, combining a sense of old and new.” The font comes in five types, including an aptly named bold version called Greater Manchester.

As well as being in the guides, it is hoped the identity will also be taken on board by other companies in the region. “Major institutions in Manchester are being encouraged to use the font, such as Manchester Airport and travel companies,” adds Vanden. “It is an interesting and subliminal way of branding without using a strapline.”

The design process was to be “as environmentally friendly as possible”, according to Vanden. He says all printing is on recycled paper and uses vegetable ink.

The West Midlands Regional Development Agency, one of the nine English regional development agencies, has launched its new name Advantage West Midlands.

Created by West Midlands- design consultancy Three’s Company Communications, the name and identity aims to “actively promote the region wherever it appears”, says agency chairman Alex Stephenson.