Albany: "Urban Village by the Bay"

culminated this week in a new tagline, full-color brochure and six-swatch color palette, among many other ideas, meant to showcase the city's strongest points. 

The was unveiled in a two-hour presentation Wednesday by Tripp Muldrow and Tee Coker, of Arnett Muldrow & Associates. 

The goal of the project was to make Albany more attractive to businesses, which could be particularly important in light of the city's .

Consultants held a bevy of meetings this week to hear from as many community members as possible about how they see Albany, and how they hope to see it portrayed. Residents shared thoughts over three days about the city's .

Wednesday afternoon, Muldrow and Coker presented nearly 40 PowerPoint slides of ideas for how to capture the city's best qualities. The package is attached to the right as a PDF.

A number of slogans made it into the presentation, including one that has in the past ("Come for the schools, stay for the bitter waterfront infighting"). But the final selection was likely a wiser choice for the city's purpose: "Urban village by the Bay."

(See other finalists in the PDF.)

The presentation includes a number of statements summarizing community values such as education, diversity and sustainability.

It also includes a font (a pre-existing creation called "Solano Gothic"), a six-color palette selection, and labels highlighting Albany as "Simply Green," "Simply Smart" and "Simply Local."

For city workers, there's a new business card design, along with matching letterhead. There are also several new logo variations for the .

The consultants suggested possible signage to highlight Albany's free parking, bike safety and main avenues, among other offerings. 

A full-color brochure includes photographs of local merchants, incorporating all the design ideas and taglines. Green local businesses, the new and all make an appearance.

So what do you think of the new designs? Check out the PDF and weigh in below.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.