Arts advisory board presents gifted city logo; council asks for revisions and designer quotes

Courtney Sisson, chair of the Arts Advisory Board, presented a logo that a local designer offered to the city at no cost and described its color, font and motif choices as intended to represent Boone’s bridges, river and parks. “He designed this with the first page is all the current logos that are being used in Boone,” Sisson said.

Sisson said the designer, Ben Muldrow, offered files and permission to use and tweak the designs without charge and that Lane Trailer and other downtown branding elements inspired the choices. Several council members praised the work but said they wanted broader input before adopting a permanent city brand.

Discussion centered on whether to accept the gifted design as-is, commission additional options, and whether the verbiage should be changed. One council member said, “I think we should do our due diligence...we should get some community input on this,” and another suggested getting quotes for multiple mock-ups rather than paying a large design fee.

Council members moved and passed a motion directing the Arts Advisory Board to request price quotes from three potential designers for producing up to three logo mock-ups each; staff was also directed to produce a revised mock-up of the presented design changing the phrase currently shown (transcript: “All aboard”) to alternate wording for review. The motion was approved by roll call.

Council members agreed that if the quotes were within a reasonable range the council would consider funding production; if quotes were prohibitive the council would not proceed. Staff and the Arts Advisory Board will return revised artwork and designer quotes to council for further consideration.