One of John Howard's lesser known achievements was to "rebrand" the Australian Government as ... the Australian Government. All Departments and agencies were required to replace any other brand and logo with a design that was the coat of arms, the words Australian Government above a line and the name of the Department or agency beneath it.
One of his justifications was to save on the expense of all the branding exercises undetaken in Government. The other was to make it clear to the citizenry, who don't always understand constitutional niceties, exactly who was both responsible and accountable for what the agency did.
ACMA has unveiled on its website a new look and feel, with a logo and different type face for the agency name. Apart from the fact this is the first agency I've seen break from the Howard edict, it is also one of the hideous blob logos that has emerged following the bold move of BHP Billiton. One of my former Unis (Macquarie) has replaced their lighthouse logo with similar blobs - a rebranding that quite frankly just emphasises that they are what the UK calls a "red brick" university. Sydney or NSW could never contemplate such a move.
I'd be interested in views on both the desirability of the Howard move (I originally thought it dodgy, but got to like it), and the specifics of the ACMA choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment