RULES AGENDA: 1/19/22
ITEM: G.2
Memorandum
TO: RULES AND OPEN
GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
FROM: Mayor Liccardo
SUBJECT: NEW OFFICIAL LOGO OF
SAN JOSÉ
DATE: 1/19/22
APPROVED: DATE: 1/10/22
RECOMMENDATION
Direct the City Manager to:
1. Identify the cost of making the widely-embraced “San José” logo, created by Native Digital, the official logo of the City of San José,
2. Seek community input, and return with a recommendation through the mid-year budget process for Council consideration.
3. If staff recommends a change, a recommendation at mid-year should include a timeline for potentially phasing out the current City of San José “sun” logo, and an approach to integrating the new logo on City assets in a manner that minimizes any expenditure of public resources;
a. Phase 1: Conduct public outreach process to solicit feedback from residents, b. Phase 2: Development of branding guidelines, immediate conversion of the logo on City and department websites, social media, other digital assets, newsletters, presentations, and future produced printed collateral;
c. Phase 3: As printed stationery, business cards, and other collateral are exhausted, replacement of those printed materials with those bearing the new logo; d. Phase 4: For consideration in future budget seasons, logo conversion on physical assets, such as park and community center signage, and the City vehicle fleet.
4. Review licensing agreement with Team San Jose for the production of branded merchandise including t-shirts and other items, and explore expanding the agreement to other local vendors, including San Jose Made and other small local businesses. a. Utilize funds earned through licensing agreements or direct sales of official logoed merchandise to help fund Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the branding plan. 2 BACKGROUND
San José is home to a diverse, creative, and resilient population of one million people. It’s the birthplace of a lengthy list of artists, advocates, athletes, entrepreneurs, musicians, playwrights, and technologists with global and historic impact, and San Jose’s rich history dates back before its incorporation in 1777 as California’s first city. Today, many of Silicon Valley’s best-known global brands are headquartered here.
The valley-shaped logo created by Native Digital early in my term has been increasingly embraced by our community and is already prominently featured on many websites, thousands of t-shirts, prominent murals, and other media. Changing the City’s official logo to match the bold and innovative spirit of our community will align our brand and personality as a city that embraces a dynamic vision of the future, and one that shapes that future for the rest of the globe. 3