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  #1  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 2:31 AM
governorgeneral governorgeneral is offline
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Grim reaping the Wheat Sheaf - new Saskatchewan logo

Since I ranted way back when about the illegible new City of Regina logo I thought the plan to get rid of the provincial wheat sheaf by next year is worth a fart from my pulpit. What does everyone think?

It looks like this:



From this week's Leader-Post:

Quote:
Provincial logo changing
James Wood, Saskatchewan News Network
Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007

The new Saskatchewan Party government is swathing the provincial government's iconic "wheat sheaf" logo and will look for a new symbol to identify government programs and services in the new year.

The current stylized wheat sheaf logo dates back to 1977, when it was adopted by the NDP government of Allan Blakeney.

Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz said the new government decided the wheat sheaf logo was out-of-step with the province and the times.

"We want to I think more accurately reflect the entire province and the wheat sheaf is dated. It's 30 plus years of age," Krawetz said in an interview, although he later said the logo was not necessarily dated.

But NDP Deputy Leader and agriculture critic Pat Atkinson said it's ironic that a rural-based government such as the Saskatchewan Party regime would ditch a logo so symbolic of Saskatchewan's agricultural roots.

"The wheat sheaf is really part of our heritage ... it really, I think, defines who we are as citizens. There are very few people who are more than a generation away from having come from a farm background. I think it really speaks to our heritage and our culture," she said.

Atkinson said the Sask. Party is too caught up in the idea of rebranding the province -- as witnessed also by its renaming of government departments as ministries -- and she questioned what the cost and process of finding a new logo would be.

The wheat sheaf logo, described on the government's Office of Protocol Web site as a "free-flowing design, adapted from the wheat sheaves on the shield, (that) expresses the growth of the province and the vitality of its people," is being phased out over time.

Krawetz said a yet-to-be determined process would begin sometime in 2008 to pick a new logo for the province.

While the wheat sheaf was introduced by Blakeney's government and primarily used by NDP governments over the last 30 years, Krawetz said there was no political agenda in dropping the logo.
The government website recently changed everything to



which is actually pretty classy - you get that sense of stability and official-ness you expect from a government - but not clearly and obviously "Saskatchewan" as the wheat sheaf.

All that stuff about "agriculture is such a minor part of the economy, it makes us look like hick redneck country bumpkins, we have to get rid of the wheat sheaf" makes no sense - it's like saying the maple tree is such a minor part of Canadian flora, better dump the maple leaf too. I wrote a Letter to the Editor that probably won't get published (the L-P's lead editorial was thumbs down to the sheaf), so I'll post it here:

Quote:
Dear Editor,

It's sad, but not too surprising, that the province's wheat sheaf logo faces the reaper in 2008. New governments across the country have gleefully purged similar logos with generations of brand equity behind them: British Columbia dumped its coat of arms for a hockey puck; Ontario, its trillium provincial flower for a ninja's throwing star; and even the City of Regina, its namesake crown for a scribbled graffiti tag too thin and weak to read.

Replacing a logo isn't something to be taken lightly. Government especially must tread carefully: their brand - the people's brand - has the power to inspire the public's confidence about their own community, and to lose it. Just as peasants and serfs in kingdoms past cynically witnessed the flags of successive monarchs rise and fall, without any real change in their day-to-day lives, so do modern-day citizens seeing symbols of state come and go on the government services they depend on. When government goes out of its way to change our logo, it should bring out the skeptic in everyone: who are you to change our brand? How is this good for us?

Canada's oldest governing bodies, the Government of Canada and the Province of Quebec, recognise the priceless value of their respective logos - the Maple Leaf and fleur de lys have survived governments of every political stripe, policies from across the spectrum, generations of immigration, cultural revolutions and economies boom and bust. Their logos' strength and relevance grows precisely because their governments keep them, whatever the passing fashion of the day.

Years ago during a high school trip to France my classmates and I were given a government wheat sheaf pin to show our provincial roots. As an ex-pat Saskatchewaner working abroad I still wear it as a reminder of home, and it never fails to start a conversation, with both foreigners and especially fellow ex-pats who pick it out instantly.

Saskatchewan will be hard-pressed to find something as distinctive, timeless and - most importantly - easy to recognise, as the current wheat sheaf. And even if it does, it will be even harder to rebuild thirty years of trust, common meaning and shared memory.
Anyway, hopefully it doesn't become some swooshy scribbly thing. Maybe I'm just being nostalgic.

Thoughts?

Last edited by governorgeneral; Jan 3, 2008 at 1:45 AM. Reason: Edited to fix photo links
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  #2  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 3:04 AM
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I find it odd that the same people that criticised the million dollar exclamation mark are now going through the motions of spending far more to change the logo for the sake of change, especially when the province is apparently in dire financial condition. Dropping the wheat sheaf for the coat of arms, which I really happen to like, is not a bad thing, but a new logo to replace the wheat sheaf is. Maybe they could change the coat of arms to have the beaver holding a bad poker hand, the deer covered in oil and dying, and the lion humping the shield.
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  #3  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 3:20 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by babo View Post
I find it odd that the same people that criticised the million dollar exclamation mark are now going through the motions of spending far more to change the logo for the sake of change, especially when the province is apparently in dire financial condition. Dropping the wheat sheaf for the coat of arms, which I really happen to like, is not a bad thing, but a new logo to replace the wheat sheaf is. Maybe they could change the coat of arms to have the beaver holding a bad poker hand, the deer covered in oil and dying, and the lion humping the shield.
Yes, the worst thing about it is how the SP criticized the NDP for "Saskatchewan!" only to now be doing something similar.

Will be interesting to see what they come up with......although I agree it's rather pointless. I happen to like the Sheaf.

Looks like they just want to seperate themselves from the NDP....can't even imagine how much it will cost for new signs and all the other places that the logo appears.
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  #4  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 3:21 AM
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Nicely done governorgeneral, you make a strong argument for keeping the wheat sheaf logo reflecting "thirty years of trust, common meaning and shared memory."

I've been thinking about a new logo to represent Saskatchewan, the government has said they would like to put a more modern spin on it, which does not necessarily mean axing the sheaf.

Modern eh? New colors, or perhaps a new pattern?

A modern logo to represent Saskatchewan, what should it look like? I'm thinking Saskatchewan has has place on the world stage, but if there were a live performance, what role would Saskatchewan play?

Random thoughts: Land of the Living Skies, Wheat Sheaf, Bread Basket of Canada, Resources, Oil, Gas, Uranium, Diamonds, Potash, Synchrotron, Canadian Light Source, Vastness, Welcoming, Accepting, Contrasting, Untouched, Natural, Hot, Cold, Meaning, History, Next to Alberta......thats the current view, but what about the future?

More musings and an idea for a more modern logo: What role might Saskatchewan play, or how might it contribute to the world for the next 30 years? (last update for logo was 70's)....I keep coming back to Agriculture for some reason and subsequently the Wheat Sheaf, but how has Saskatchewan changed since the 1970's? Has wheat, sheaves, farming, agricultural production changed in Saskatchewan? How? Through technology we achieve greater efficiency....hmmmm, a modern wheat sheaf is genetically engineered is it not? And harvested with GPS navigated combines, and shipped through road, rail, and sea transport networks to countries around the world....Take a globe and stamp a wheat sheaf on it, theres your new logo

I've got nothing else, we should explore other jurisdictional logos (Canadian and International), that could take some time.

I don't mind the logo as is, there are more pressing concepts and ideas to discuss and develop, none of which include redesigning a logo which still reflects the growth of the province and vitality of its people, unless we wish to incorporate a greater emphasis on the technological side of growth and vitality, then we should add that somehow....I'm no design expert, so don't expect any fancy conceptuals of a modern technological wheat sheaf....end of thoughts.
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  #5  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 5:09 PM
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As someone who currently works for the government, I can testify how frustrating and time consuming this logo change has been.

A few weeks ago, we got an inter-office memo telling us to take the sheaf out of all documents and permits, and replace it with the coat of arms. After a couple weeks of going through all the memo templates, permits, and manuals changing the logo, now I find out that they're going to come up with a new one in January!

We've also been spending quite a bit of time going through every document and replacing the word "Department" with "Ministry", since our name was changed as well

what a waste of time and money.. But I guess it is a government job


But on the other hand, I do like the idea of modernizing the logo. I think as a province, we need to convey that we have more to offer than wheat fields. Personally, as you can probably tell from my avatar, I like the coat of arms, and I think we should just leave it as that.
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  #6  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 8:29 PM
governorgeneral governorgeneral is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SASKFTW View Post
Random thoughts: Land of the Living Skies, Wheat Sheaf, Bread Basket of Canada, Resources, Oil, Gas, Uranium, Diamonds, Potash, Synchrotron, Canadian Light Source, Vastness, Welcoming, Accepting, Contrasting, Untouched, Natural, Hot, Cold, Meaning, History, Next to Alberta......thats the current view, but what about the future?

More musings and an idea for a more modern logo: What role might Saskatchewan play, or how might it contribute to the world for the next 30 years? (last update for logo was 70's)....I keep coming back to Agriculture for some reason and subsequently the Wheat Sheaf, but how has Saskatchewan changed since the 1970's? Has wheat, sheaves, farming, agricultural production changed in Saskatchewan? How? Through technology we achieve greater efficiency....hmmmm, a modern wheat sheaf is genetically engineered is it not? And harvested with GPS navigated combines, and shipped through road, rail, and sea transport networks to countries around the world....Take a globe and stamp a wheat sheaf on it, theres your new logo
I think that brainstorming proves exactly why the wheat sheaf is so good - everything really does come back to agricultural roots.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ReginaGuy View Post
As someone who currently works for the government, I can testify how frustrating and time consuming this logo change has been.

We've also been spending quite a bit of time going through every document and replacing the word "Department" with "Ministry", since our name was changed as well
Neat to get an "insider" perspective. I'm actually glad they finally got around to changing "dept" to "ministry" - we have "ministers", therefore we should have "ministries". Vs "secretaries of [whatever]", which would make sense for "depts", but that would be American. Hopefully the Feds will figure it out too.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ReginaGuy View Post
But on the other hand, I do like the idea of modernizing the logo. I think as a province, we need to convey that we have more to offer than wheat fields.
I disagree with "modernising" the logo, and that a logo has to "convey that we have more to offer than wheat fields". Like I said, the Maple Leaf has been around since 1967 - does that need "modernising" too? Do we need to change it because Canada has more than just maple syrup?

The brains behind this change have got it backwards: the logo doesn't define us; /we/ define the logo. Whatever Saskatchewan "is about" or "has to offer", comes out in what we do and how we do it, not the logo that comes attached to the press releases that talk about it.

What a good logo needs to do is be easy to read, versatile and flexible to use on different media, representative of the people (not literally, but abstractedly) and distinct. The current wheat sheaf is all of these. When such symbols of government and the people are so effective and reflective of our heritage, they're too, well, sacred to be changed at the whim of "style" or "trends".

(All the reasons why the scribbled "Regina" logo needs to go, by the way.)

Like I said, Saskatchewan will be hard-pressed to come up with something better than what it's already got. But if it just changes to use the coat of arms, I'd be happy.

Anyway, for any supporters, check out the facebook group: "Keep Saskatchewan's Wheat Sheaf Emblem!"
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  #7  
Old Posted Dec 15, 2007, 10:44 PM
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Good to see the new government has found ways to create jobs for all the sask party lackeys. Maybe next we can change the provincial flag or emblems.

Waste of f**king time and money.
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  #8  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2007, 5:37 PM
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When I look at it, I think of South Australia??

I don't know why.
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  #9  
Old Posted Dec 16, 2007, 9:18 PM
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Originally Posted by vid View Post
When I look at it, I think of South Australia??

I don't know why.
Which one? The old or new?
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  #10  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 6:24 AM
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Good points from Brand Canada Blog

Quote:
A destination brand is not a logo (but not just for the reason you may think)
Posted by Steve Wright at 11/13/2007 11:11 PM and is filed under Nation Branding,Destination Marketing,Tourism Marketing,Destination Branding

For those of you who just joined the conversation, a brand is not a logo... blah blah blah... promise... blah blah... perceptions and beliefs... etc... google "brand" and then come back here for the important bit relating to destination branding.

The real danger in including a new logo when you launch your finely crafted and painstakingly developed destination brand is that no one will listen to a single word you say. They'll fixate on the logo. And it won't matter how many hundred "consultations" and "workshops" you did, or that you surveyed every man woman and child in all your key markets and reviewed three hundred years of third party research, all of which was time and money well invested. It won't even matter whether your idea for the destination brand is any good. The scope of your multi-year project will be reduced to headlines that read "City spends $1 million on logo". And you'll only have yourself to blame.

Most of the world doesn't understand the concept of a destination brand, place brand, tourism brand or whatever you want to call the thing you're trying to make travelers believe you are. But they do understand logo's. Logo's are what help them to buy the right can of soup. And to the average joe (especially the average joe who just got cousin larry to make a logo for "average joe's car wash and hemp shop"), logo's shouldn't cost $1 million.

When you launch a new destination brand, launch the brand first. Spend lots of time talking about what you want the brand to mean, the role it plays, and why it makes sense for your destination. People may or may not understand what you're taking about, but at least they'll listen because they won't be distracted by those cool new hats and t-shirts you printed up with your new logo. Let the idea of the brand sink in for a while. Let people debate it. Then, once it's sunk in for a while, introduce your new logo. By then, people will at least have a frame of reference to think about it. You'll still have critics, but by then the press will at least understand the broader context of the branding project and you'll probably avoid the "$1 million logo" headlines.

For a lesson in what happens when you launch a logo and a brand at the same time, check out this piece from the New Zealand Herald or the recent debate on whether to scrap Edinburgh's $1million logo (the reader comments on the bottom of this article are classic).
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  #11  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 8:04 PM
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Apparently the government has now abandoned all plans to change the logo. We're going back to the sheaf.

I guess enough people didn't like the idea.

Thats the word on the grape vine
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  #12  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 8:08 PM
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Originally Posted by ReginaGuy View Post
Apparently the government has now abandoned all plans to change the logo. We're going back to the sheaf.

I guess enough people didn't like the idea.

Thats the word on the grape vine
http://www.newstalk980.com/incoming/...eaf-logo-stays
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  #13  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 8:17 PM
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WHEAT SHEAF LOGO TO BE RETAINED

New Saskatchewan Party Government Listens to Public
Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz today announced that the government has decided not to replace the government's wheat sheaf logo at this time.
Last week, Krawetz indicated the government was considering a process to update the 30 year old logo.
"This idea generated a lot of feedback and discussion throughout the province," Krawetz said. "Some people like the idea. Some, however, do not."
"The updating of the sheaf was never going to be a priority of the new Saskatchewan Party government. But, to the extent that there was a public perception that modernizing the wheat sheaf was going to be a distraction from our priorities, we are setting the record straight."
Krawetz said for those who oppose changing, it's really not a matter of whether or not they like the wheat sheaf logo. It was a question of priorities.
Krawetz added that while there is always a cost to re-organizing the government after a change of government, the goal will be to keep that cost to a minimum.
-30-
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  #14  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 9:16 PM
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Well a new era of flipflopping begins. Just have to wonder for how long.
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  #15  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 9:24 PM
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Well, on the bright side, at least they actually listened to the public.

The NDP decided to ignore the critics and spend $1-million changing this:
Saskatchewan

to this:
Saskatchewan!

How they spent a Million dollars to add an exclamation mark and italicize the font is still beyond me..
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  #16  
Old Posted Dec 17, 2007, 9:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ReginaGuy View Post
Well, on the bright side, at least they actually listened to the public.

The NDP decided to ignore the critics and spend $1-million changing this:
Saskatchewan

to this:
Saskatchewan!

How they spent a Million dollars to add an exclamation mark and italicize the font is still beyond me..
Haha...it looks good on the rail cars, though!
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  #17  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2007, 1:39 AM
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Yay! [happy dance]

As that blog I quoted said, if/when the Sask Party actually does make Saskatchewan any different or improved (ie, a new "product"), the public /may/ be more receptive to a logo change then (ie, to show off the new "brand"). But if other governments with much more experience and history behind them (eg Canada, Quebec) are any lead, Saskatchewan will keep the Wheat Sheaf.
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  #18  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2007, 3:43 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flatlander View Post
WHEAT SHEAF LOGO TO BE RETAINED

New Saskatchewan Party Government Listens to Public
Deputy Premier Ken Krawetz today announced that the government has decided not to replace the government's wheat sheaf logo at this time.
Last week, Krawetz indicated the government was considering a process to update the 30 year old logo.
"This idea generated a lot of feedback and discussion throughout the province," Krawetz said. "Some people like the idea. Some, however, do not."
"The updating of the sheaf was never going to be a priority of the new Saskatchewan Party government. But, to the extent that there was a public perception that modernizing the wheat sheaf was going to be a distraction from our priorities, we are setting the record straight."
Krawetz said for those who oppose changing, it's really not a matter of whether or not they like the wheat sheaf logo. It was a question of priorities.
Krawetz added that while there is always a cost to re-organizing the government after a change of government, the goal will be to keep that cost to a minimum.
-30-
I see a pattern about to develop.
How did you get a straight copy of the PR?
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  #19  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2007, 3:48 AM
governorgeneral governorgeneral is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mayor Quimby View Post
I see a pattern about to develop.
How did you get a straight copy of the PR?
You can get it off the gov.sk.ca news releases - which, btw, still has the coat of arms on. Wonder if they'll just leave it? I like it too.
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  #20  
Old Posted Dec 18, 2007, 4:21 AM
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I actually think this may help re-brand Saskatchewan, from its image of being unfriendly.. to being business friendly. I am sure the new government will work hard to market the province as the "New" Saskatchewan. The old NDP/Sask image just doesn't cut it in todays economy.

I know next month ther premier will be making his rounds in Calgary promoting itself to the big oil companies. He has already pointed out how he intends to attract much more oil investments ... and I believe this is only the start of much more business marketing.

I guess we will have to see how sucessful he is, but I think Saskatchewan is in a good place, with a strong leader.
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