February 19, 2008 | Category: Logo Design News | Tags: Logo Design News

More and more cities are embracing branding to enhance or even reposition its public image.

A recent addition to city logos is Cardiff, the capital and largest city of Wales (United Kingdom).

The city’s first ever logo, which costs £45,000, features the name “Cardiff Caerdydd” encircled with multi-colored discs. These logo design colors represent the city colors such as parks and waterfronts.

Promoters believe this logo will help the city “stand out on the world stage” and position itself as a progressive place to live, work, visit, invest and study.

Apparently, the people behind this initiative want to get rid of the traditional associations with Cardiff such as dragons and daffodils. The city’s flag and seal feature the Red Dragon with the motto “Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn” or “The red dragon will lead the way”.

As expected, some people in this city detest the logo design. In the comments section of BBC, people associate it with chocolate Smarties, old analogue telephone and paint manufacturer. Others call it rubbish, bland, boring, predictable, and meaningless just like the disastrous London Olympics logo design.