Back to the Drawing Board for City of Ames Tagline and Logo

Ames Community Visioning Steering Committee will reconvene to chose a new tagline for communications and a public input process will be used in selecting a new city logo.

The Ames City Council formally decided on Tuesday to move past a - an abstract letter "A" with a forward arrow in red and white. City Council voted unanimously to ask the committee to select a new tagline.

The tagline and logo discussion was among several items on the agenda. City Council also discussed a library bond referendum and a multi-million dollar hospital expansion project.

Council made the decision after officials discovered the tagline “Heartland's Leading Edge” was being used by another Iowa town and Ames visioning consultant, Brand Endeavor President Christie Harper offered to help the city write a new one for free. The logo and the tagline should be connected, city officials say.

The vision statement and logo came after a six-month visioning process that ended in June. City Councilman Tom Wacha said he didn't want the steering committee members to feel like their role in shaping the community's vision was all for not.

“Think of the tagline and the logo as the icing on the cake,” he said.

The community's vision statement which the committee developed remains the same.

“Ames, Iowa is the Heartland's leading edge. As a city, we are committed to fostering creativity and innovation at the forefront of the world's important issues that the Midwest is uniquely positioned to address, including agriculture, veterinary medicine, sustainability, development, diversity, education and health care. For those who want the charms and convenience of a small town with the opportunities and amenities that come from a major University, Ames' position at the Heartland's leading edge creates a community – and a region – where everyone has opportunities to discover and thrive.”

Revising the tagline also allows the city to reconsider the proposed .

The logo came from a combined effort on the part of Ames Chamber of Commerce, the and the Ames Convention & Visitor's Bureau. The organizations were designing a shared logo and agreed to include Ames' vision statement in the design. A process those organizations paid for alone.

Council voted 5-1 to approve a logo selection process that would allow the design firm, PUSH, to develop five logo possibilities that the council would narrow down to three and then select the final logo based on public feedback.

Wacha, the no vote, said that selecting a logo should be left to design experts.

During discussions, a resident and city council members expressed concerns about all entities using the same logo.

Catherine Scott, member of the steering committee, said she had no problem with all organizations using the same logo when they were marketing for the city.

“(They) should not use the logo when promoting their own agenda. That is just wrong in my opinion I think we need to discuss just how this logo is going to be used,” Scott said.

City Councilman, Matthew Goodman, also expressed concerns about other organizations using the city's logo especially when asserting a political agenda or endorsing candidates.

The Chamber and the Economic Development Commission came out against the controversial school bond referendum that failed Tuesday.

Goodman said he had no problem with all entities using the same logo and statement when it comes to marketing the town.

“It can be confusing if they take on political activity,” Goodman said.