Capital should have its own logo, poll of Londoners finds

The YouGov poll, which was commissioned by Landor, says 51 per cent of those surveyed think London should have its own logo – like other global cities New York, Berlin, Melbourne and Dublin.

A total of 31 per cent, meanwhile, thought London shouldn’t have a logo. More than 1000 London residents were quizzed in the poll.

Back in 2009, the Greater London Authority launched the Brand for London competition, which aimed to create an identity for the city – however this never materialised.

The tender soon ran into controversy, with consultancies asked to submit unpaid creative work in the first round. Consultancy Lambie-Nairn boycotted the competition.

The Brand for London project was eventually awarded to Saffron, which won the job in 2010. At the time, the GLA said the consultancy would be asked to work up proposals to ‘reflect the unique brand identity of the capital’ ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

However, when the work eventually launched in 2011, it was used as the identity for promotional agency London & Partners.

Saffron principal Ian Stephens told Design Week that London & Partners had added the Thames ‘squiggle’ to the identity the consultancy had submitted.

Referring to London’s need to have a logo, Landor global creative officer Peter Knapp says, ‘Officially or unofficially, all major cities in the world have their own brand. Whether it’s Tokyo or San Francisco, New York or Barcelona, each will have certain commonly recognised associations.

‘But is London managing those associations properly? Because if you leave it up to chance, the city could just as easily be defined by negative events like the London riots in 2011 or the financial crisis.’

Knapp has previously made the case for a logo for London in this Design Week piece.