Is Visalia logo saga finally over? Council chose a new design, but solicits public comment

Visalia has a new logo after a social media outcry two months ago over a minimalist design forced the city council to organize an art contest that drew 87 entries.

The council will officially reveal the artist of the winning design – and present him/her a $1,500 prize – at its Aug. 5 meeting.

The council reviewed five logo finalists – entries No. 7, 34, 35, 56 and 59 – recommended by the logo redesign committee and chose No. 59, in which the iconic Fox Theatre towers over a smaller building and farm land int front of the Sierra Nevada and rising sun.

The council also agreed with the four out of the five-person committee members who recommended offering the artist $1,500 compensation and recognition.

The vote was unanimous.

Mayor Brian Poochigian expressed concern for the artist’s safety and privacy with all hate that is out there because of the logo controversy. He would like to give the artist the option first if they want to remain anonymous.

The mayor and city manager Leslie Caviglia asked that the public comment process be accelerated, said city spokeswoman Allison M. Mackey. The comment period, which opened on July 12 and closed on July 15, drew 139 emails.

The council agreed to reopen the public comment period for the community to give feedback on logo No. 59 by emailing communityfeedback@visalia.city. It ends Friday, July 26 at 5 p.m.

The council will review additional public comments, officially unveil the new logo and present the winner with a special recognition at its Aug. 5 meeting.

The city has spent $150,000 in two different packages - $75,000 for human resources marketing and rebranding and $75,000 for the city brand refresh that included the minimalist “Breaking Through the V” logo and 1,500 different assets, said Mackey.

Moving forward

Councilmember Emmanuel Hernández Soto said while he hated changing the timeline only because the council has originally given one to the public, “I also think that we spent enough time on this.”

Soto said his picks were entries No. 34 and 59.

Entries were assigned a number with the names of the submitters to remain anonymous.

At Monday’s meeting, Councilmember Steve Nelsen expressed frustration with the time and effort spent on the logo, questioning its urgency and importance compared to other issues like homelessness and water quality.

“There’s a lot of negativity that comes forward when you move a process like this forward,” Nelsen said.

Nelsen said if the city had done the process five years ago, there wouldn’t have been an outcry on social media, which he felt was created by a few entities.

From the first meeting to the most recent, Nelsen said the community showing up to those meeting have decreased, questioning “how important is this issue as a community.”

“If we pick one tonight, there’ll be people stirring the pot and there will be public outcry and we will hear the negativity,” Nelsen said.

“We’ve done our due diligence, and I’m ready to put this to bed,” said councilmember Liz Wynn.

Wynn said no matter which logo the council selects, “people are going to be angry about it. So, let’s just rip off the band aid and get it over with.”

While Nelsen liked entry No. 56, Wynn liked No. 59 and 34.

Vice Mayor Brett Taylor said his pick would be 59 and 56.

Poochigian, who liked 59 and 56, said while the city is keeping the legacy logo from 1998, a lot has changed over the years and the city needs to adapt to that change.