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Austin unveils first unified city logo and brand system
Summary
City of Austin leaders presented a citywide brand system and logo intended to replace hundreds of department marks, with a phased rollout beginning Oct. 1 for digital assets and an estimated total cost of about $1.1 million funded from the general fund.
City of Austin officials on an internal presentation announced the city’s first unified brand and logo system and said digital assets will switch to the new mark beginning Oct. 1, with a phased, fiscally conservative rollout of other items as assets reach end of life.
City Manager (name not specified) and Jessica King, communications director for the City of Austin, described the change as an effort to make city services easier to recognize and navigate after the city found more than 300 distinct department and program logos in use. The communications team said the work involved community outreach, city employee input and two contracted firms, TKO Advertising and Pentagram Design Austin.
“For the first time in Austin’s history, we will have a logo to represent the city services and unify us as one organization, one Austin,” Jessica King said. King told the assembled staff the new system was informed by surveys and focus groups and is intended to reduce public confusion and internal duplication of effort.
City staff said funding for the effort comes from the fiscal 2024 and 2025 budgets and that the contract awarded to the two design firms was “about $564,000,” with roughly $200,000 of that for the design element; staff described the total program cost as about $1.1 million. Officials characterized the rollout as cost-conscious: departments were told not to replace items ahead of normal replacement cycles, and digital updates on websites and social channels will be the first visible changes.
Design partners said the mark’s shapes and palette were chosen to reflect Austin’s hills, rivers, bridges and tree canopy. “We’ve been internally calling it ‘violet crown blue’…the western skies in Austin have this sort of violet bluish color,” said DJ Stout, a partner at Pentagram Design Austin, describing the color choices and the team’s intent to reference local landscape and atmosphere.
Raul Garza of TKO Advertising described the engagement process that informed the brand, saying it included listening sessions with community-based organizations, neighborhood groups, elected officials and city employees to surface how people connect — or do not connect — with city services.
Officials emphasized one exception to the branding change: uniforms for public safety personnel. King said Austin Police Department uniforms, Austin Fire Department uniforms and Austin-Travis County EMS uniforms will not change, citing the importance of immediate recognizability for emergency responders.
City staff said the branding system is meant to produce internal efficiencies by providing templates and a shared visual system so departments do not recreate materials from scratch. Presenters said the full physical rollout (signage, vehicles, uniforms, printed materials) will happen over a longer timeline as existing assets are replaced.
TKO Advertising, Pentagram Design Austin, Raul Garza, Monica Allas and Jennifer Sarver of Sarver Strategies were named as participants in outreach and development of the brand. Staff closed the presentation by inviting questions and offering to follow up with attendees individually.
