Atlanta Dept of City Planning new signs (utilities, taxi cab)

[cqholt]

These new signs are popping up everywhere, making them easier to read and understand.

Fed up with the cluttered and uninspiring signage coming out of his office, Tim Keane, Commissioner of Atlanta’s Department of Planning, decided to make a change.

Keane hired the Atlanta-based branding firm Matchstic to give the entire department a makeover. The firm was tasked with updating everything from the department’s name (formerly known as the Department of Planning and Community Development) to its official seal and signage.

https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/...keover/537153/

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by cqholt

These new signs are popping up everywhere, making them easier to read and understand.


https://www.citylab.com/design/2017/...keover/537153/

Oh yeah, I posted that in the subreddit. It's a cool thing, IMO; a good meeting of functional and aesthetically pleasing design. I want to see this kind of effort pressed forward to other aspects of the city, and even into a cohesive aesthetic brand that just works.

I remember reading about the whole Brand Atlanta effort from 2005, and it left an odd set of thoughts on the subject to me. On one hand, the Brand Atlanta effort seems to have been a huge waste of time and effort. On the other hand, seeing how other cities actually get branding right leaves me a bit wanting.

Now, what's being shown here with public notices is not, purely, a branding thing. It's the meeting of aesthetic and, perhaps most importantly, functional design. That's the kind of thing I want to see more of. After all, how many websites does the City of Atlanta run, each with their own design template and functionality problems? How many people could recognize the city's flag from 50 yards compared to so many others'? What kind of opportunity is there to, if nothing else, give the impression of a unified, competent governance that works cohesively between departments with a unified design scheme for vehicles, uniforms, building decorations, etc. Just what kind of opportunity cost is there in the feeling that the government is functioning cohesively? Not and advertisement really, but a banner to govern under.

I mean, having been to Mexico City, and seeing their CDMX branding all over the place, I got the feeling that yeah, this was a city that was cohesive. It was in plazas, on police cars and uniforms, on government buildings, on tour buses, on utilities buildings, on regular buses and trains, on all the taxi cabs, and in tons of other places. It was more than a branding, it was show of capability.

Not that fixing public notice signs is necessarily part of that, but they could be part of a wider effort to blend function, good aesthetics, and an image of cohesion that I would be happy to see occur.

[magnetar]

The local government websites in Atlanta are truly terrible; I'm of the hope that the local tech industry can try to help here. I don't know who designed MARTA's new site, but it's quite functional and aesthetically good. It's responsive, so it works on computers and mobile devices. Unfortunately it's still running on expensive proprietary tech on the backend, so it's likely to fall to the same fate as every other local government site: infrequent updates due to aging software, expired tech support contracts, or simply not making it a budget priority. My fingers are crossed that MARTA will keep a good thing going, and maybe the next mayor of Atlanta will care more about creating a coherent online presence for city government.

Actually now that I look, the city's website has been updated recently, and it's a lot better. But there's still not a single coherent brand for the city.

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by magnetar

The local government websites in Atlanta are truly terrible; I'm of the hope that the local tech industry can try to help here. I don't know who designed MARTA's new site, but it's quite functional and aesthetically good. It's responsive, so it works on computers and mobile devices. Unfortunately it's still running on expensive proprietary tech on the backend, so it's likely to fall to the same fate as every other local government site: infrequent updates due to aging software, expired tech support contracts, or simply not making it a budget priority. My fingers are crossed that MARTA will keep a good thing going, and maybe the next mayor of Atlanta will care more about creating a coherent online presence for city government.

Actually now that I look, the city's website has been updated recently, and it's a lot better. But there's still not a single coherent brand for the city.

If anyone is looking for work in IT, City of Atlanta Information Management is always hiring.

[magnetar]

Yeah, this isn't really an IT issue though, it's about design and content strategy. It's nice to see a city office that understands the importance of design though, so there's reason to be hopeful.