Sarasota City Seal Design Contest Opens To Public Sunday

SARASOTA, FL — Anyone in the Sarasota community is invited to submit designs for a new city seal in a public design contest that opens Sunday.

The contest allows the community to play a role in the development of Sarasota’s evolving brand, according to a city news release.

The current city seal, which dates back to Sarasota’s incorporation in 1902, features marine life and coastal imagery — including a mullet, palmettos and shells — and the words, “May Sarasota Prosper. It’s largely gone unchanged since it was designed.

It’s used on official city documents and in various places throughout Sarasota, including as part of the Sarasota Police Department’s badge and at the federal building in downtown Sarasota.

The seal design contest is part of a rebranding effort approved by the Sarasota City Commission last year. The city has partnered with Sarasota-based DreamLarge, the first registered benefit corporation on the Gulf Coast of Florida, to conduct community outreach efforts that include the seal contest and last month’s public survey on how the community views Sarasota.

The competition is open to all, regardless of age, skill level and background, the city said. The top five submissions will be selected by a diverse panel of community members and will be presented to the commission later this summer.

To submit entries online and view contest guidelines, visit BrandSarasota.com. Entries will be available for viewing by the public online as they are received. Physical entries can be mailed to DreamLarge, 1421 Blvd. of the Arts, Sarasota, FL 34236. The contest closes June 15.

The city seal differs from the city logo, which features a silhouette of the statue of David and was adopted in 1988. The contest is solely for the redesign of the city seal, not the logo. The logo will be refreshed by DreamLarge later this year and will be presented to the commission in the fall.

DreamLarge has previously led rebranding efforts for a number of community projects, including All Faiths Food Bank, the Library Foundation for Sarasota County and The Bay Sarasota.