City of Melbourne

circa 1900-1993[]

Up until 1993, the City of Melbourne used its coat of arms in its official communications.

1993-2005[]

SVG NEEDED

Designer:

FHA Design
(with support of an in house Council design team)

Typography:

Unknown

Launched:

March 1993

The City of Melbourne corporate logo was launched in March 1993. It was designed by one of Australia’s leading design houses, FHA Design, with support of an in house Council design team.

The launch of the logo was the culmination of a two-year process that involved extensive consultation with City of Melbourne staff and a cross section of the Melbourne community. The corporate logo represents the collective pride of staff and Melburnians in their city and the commitment of Council staff to providing the best possible service.

It was clear after the public and staff consultation process that the design would be abstract as the designers were being asked to translate values, perceptions and feelings into a design solution.

According to FHA ‘…the new visual identity symbolises the relationship between the city environ and the infrastructure required to support it. Two distinctive aspects of Melbourne’s personality were chosen to reflect this interaction. The composition of organic and architectural forms in an harmonious relationship creates an image that is instantly recognizable.’

As an abstract design, the identity can mean different things. The more common interpretations are:

Leaf: the garden city, our world famous parks and gardens
M: Melbourne
Column: the built form of the city; our legacy of historic buildings
Circle: the dawning of a new era, the birth of an organisation with a clear mission; another interpretation is that the circle forms the head of an abstract human form representing the people we are here to serve.

2005–2009[]

This updated logo is a slight modification to the original logo in the first design suite.

Changes to the original include the horizontal wording above the main logo graphic, and simplification of its coloring to a grey while retaining the yellow accent of the circle/dot.