On March 30, 1981, Mayor Jean Drapeau unveiled the new visual identity of the City of Montreal, a red rosette on a white background.
In the media, the presentation’s luster was partly tarnished by the attack on President Ronald Reagan, which occurred the same day, and by the creator’s $360,000 bill (1.2 million in 2024 dollars). of the logo, the graphic designer Georges Huel.
A few days later, in The Press, the journalist Guy Pinard noted that in 1977, a long-time collaborator of Georges Huel had designed a similar logo for a credit union. Its cost: $7000.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF MONTREAL
The visual identity of the City of Montreal, unveiled on March 30, 1981
In the flood of more or less lame comparisons that followed, another article mentioned a plastic modeling clay mold of a similar shape which had cost only 69 cents.
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PHOTO BANQ ARCHIVES
The logos of the Caisse populaire Saint-Alphonse-d’Youville and the city of Montreal contrasted on one of The PressApril 8, 1981.
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PHOTO BANQ ARCHIVES
On April 18, 1981, The Press lined up logos, images and products that showed various similarities with the new Montreal logo, including a plasticine mold worth $0.69.
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However, more than 40 years later, the rose window persists and makes its mark. “It’s a great logo. He spent the time very well,” notes Hélène Godin, president and CEO of La Factry, school of creativity sciences.
This opinion is shared by Catherine D’Amours, professor-researcher at the UQAM School of Design, designer and multidisciplinary artist: “For me, it’s a logo that has aged well,” she judges.
“This logo was extremely expensive,” she notes. It was huge for the time. But I think it’s a work that was done with different stages in the creative process, and these stages allowed it to be well thought out and to have a strategy that allowed it to evolve well over time. »
What is a good logo? Why does it last?
A logo like a person
A logo does not exist in absolute terms. An identity is not just about a pretty design.
“A logo is part of an identity system,” says Catherine D’Amours. We often think that a logo lives on its own and is drawn on the corner of a table. On the contrary, it is part of something which is much larger and which will serve to convey much more than a brand: a system of values. »
Hélène Godin likes to compare a brand to a person. “We will say of a person that he is consistent in what he says and in what he does. A brand is a bit the same thing. »
Initially a graphic designer, she worked at Cossette and was creative director at Sid Lee.
“A brand is a living and complex whole made up of images, words, behaviors,” she explains.
Like a person, the brand evolves. His identity is confirmed and affirmed.
The value of a brand is defined over time. If we compare a brand to a person, they could say that their value grows as they do things. It lies in the originality of its value proposition: what does it bring to the world?
Hélène Godin, president and CEO of La Factry
This proposal must materialize in an effective graphic symbol. The creators achieve this methodically.