In 2013, the Economic Development Board of South Australia introduced a new brand identity to more or less unanimous mockery and derision. “A folded milk carton. A monopoly hotel. Hideously disappointing. Conservative and boring” declared one reporter.
South Australia’s new logo drew derisive remarks like, “Last one out, please shut the door”
The debacle got us interested in the whole world of “destination branding” and holy smoke, it is a weird, weird niche. Beyond the inherent strangeness in treating a location as a product to be branded (sometimes with its own tagline!—”Texas: It’s like a whole other country”), we found the existing logos for the world’s countries and cities to completely run the gamut in terms of “cool” factor and basic quality.
Check out our article on ways to find logo inspiration to come up with a great logo idea!
For example, Amsterdam’s logo with the 3 X’s (found all around the city) is way too cool for school. We wouldn’t expect to find a logo this severely minimal outside the world of indie pop music, let alone in tourism. But it is balanced with the city’s “I AMsterdam” branding, which is a pleasing logo for any tourist:
The Amsterdam tourism logo is stark and sleek.
The Best
A striking, versatile mark for London’s central Victoria district
The US city of <Philadelphia takes a minimal approach, the beauty of which shines in its endless implementations
The crystalline, mathematical look of Melbourne’s logo has become the holy grail of destination branding
São Paolo’s logo is bright, inviting and legible without being generic
Egypt’s logo is youthful, relaxed and seamlessly works in some traditional symbolism
Peru’s logo likewise incorporates a cultural motif to produce a distinctive brand mark
This rich mining area on the border of Germany and the Czech Republic selected a fantastic logo that is anything but provincial
Finland’s logo is memorably abstract and incorporates gorgeous color
Odessa’s simple anchor logo references its defining location on the coast of the Black Sea and is paired with a beautiful typeface
A star and playful brogue pattern nicely convey the character of this trendy district within the US capitol
The Worst
Hard to imagine it getting more basic than this.
That “T” looks like a number of things, none of which are the Italian peninsula. Add some awful upper/lower case mixing and you get a real disaster
That abstract mark in the national colors just doesn’t quite say inviting
The Hague, one of Holland’s most beautiful areas, is not well represented by this crude kite design
Korea may be sparkling. This logo certainly is not
Switzerland’s logo might just take the cake, with its combination of that weird golden starfish and the mystifying phrase “get natural”
I need Spain’s logo is a mix of too many different styles and fonts, making it hard to know where to focus.
Want to learn more? Check out our ultimate guide on how to design a logo and learn what makes a good logo.
Author: Alex Bigman
