As battered and weather-beaten as the dilapidated clapboard houses that crowd the swampy, gang-infested commercial capital Belize city – that’s how the new logo looks to most commentators on social media. Defenders say the logo is a radical shift back to the 60s, somewhat of a retro innovation in art that is inspired by the many circles found in nature. The Belize Tourist Board’s U.S. P.R. agency of the season, Minneapolis-based advertising shop Olson, defends the new Belize Tourist Board logo:
Copy of the new logo posted on social media.
“Olson turned to Belize itself for inspiration – the circular forms found across the nation inspired the new typeface, while a local artist contributed his own take to the national bird, the toucan. In all, the identity brings a contemporary, yet classic vibe to represent tourism in Belize and harkens back to classic travel posters of the ’60s (which, as design pieces tend to stand the test of time better than the stuff of recent years). The graphic forms are balanced out with textural brushstrokes, a nod to the handcraftsmanship of the country’s artisans.”
The Belize Tourism Board spends millions of tax payers monies to sell Belize to visitors. Hiring expensive stateside designers and advertising agencies without public tenders or bids is nothing new to Belize. But the new logo has stirred up debate in Belize ranging from high-fives amongst BTB board members and employees, to yawns, and to condemnation amongst Belizeans.
Alyssa Carnegie BTB Marketing: “The new look is something that we’re really proud of and we really did a lot of work and research into the formulation of it. The font is not a font that you’ll find anywhere else; it’s unique to Belize, the colors of course are representative of Belize. Even the shapes of the fonts and the toucan is more circular because we were looking at what are some of the shapes that really ring through and resonate with Belize as a culture, as a people, as a country that we have to offer.
“The colors are all really representative of different products that we have to offer in Belize; looking at all the wildlife, the green, looking at the blues and the greens from the sea and the reef and the beach and all of that. Yellows and reds that speak towards the sun, that speak towards even some of the cultural components like the Mayan wear that they use for the deer dance, some of the Mestizo components, even looking at some of the yellows from the Garifuna wear. So we really made sure that this really served as an umbrella brand and it does represent Belize way through to its DNA.”
Comments received on the Belize.com Discussion List and from Social Media are more varied:
• Yes it is horrid. Will not cause the proper attention that it needs and deserves.
• Looks like something that a 6 year old drew up.
• Was there a “gay theme” to this presentation? Take a good look at the colors. See the gay flag colors?
• Forget the gay colors, they have job ahead of them to convince people to visit!
• The logo looks almost the same like Mexico’s one. Check it for yourselves.
• Looks absolutely nothing like Mexico’s logo.
• What a non-imaginative logo…my 8 year old daughter could have done a better job!!
• Even tourism is controlled by the red law firm? Damned land white sharks
• Why is the BTB logo spelling our country’s name with lower case “b”. This is an insult to our country. Where next will the enemy strike?
• This at a time when our sovereignty is being challenged by Politicians fueling this NONSENSE of the ICJ. If we allow BTB to get away with screwing up our Country’s Name then might as well we stop calling ourselves Belizeans.
Do not like that it is all lower case; otherwise it is fine with me. Belizeans should not have to pay an ourside firm to do this. We have raw talent in Belize to do this.