A special Forney City Council session was held on Tuesday, March 27, 2012, at City Hall. The council and Mayor Rozell came together to hear a presentation by Jordan Wollman of Aria, to select a new city logo and tagline. This is all part of the effort to “re-brand Forney” that began months ago. Though a clear choice was not made, they were able to narrow the logo choices down from five to two, with the help of the audience in attendance.
The one thing everyone could agree on was that the new Forney tagline, “City Without Limits” was a hit. The logo presentation showed just how much work that Aria did in order to capture the spirit of Forney and present five choices for the council. Jordan Wollman told council members that they have truly enjoyed working to represent Forney, “We found a synergy here that's very uncommon for us...we would not present something that we would not be proud to show.” Overall the five logo choices were well received, however one choice was cut from the start. The theme logo of “The early bird catches the worm” actually drew a few chuckles from the audience. The mayor and council were no more thrilled with it, and it became casualty number one.
As EDC Director Kim Buttram so accurately stated, “A single symbol to represent residents and retailers is very hard to come up with here.” The second ax fell on a logo design that used the Texas State Flag, which was thought by some to be over-used in city logos. Council member Brian Haughey said, “I see a lot of cities with a flag theme. I don't want us to be like everyone else.” City Manager Brian Brooks enjoyed the color version of a modern logo that formed an “abstract letter F”. However, some members felt it also resembled many other city logos and audience members said it left them feeling cold and corporate.
As three logos were eliminated from consideration, the two front runners emerged. The choice of a new brand for Forney is extremely important for the future of the city. As Aria's overview stated, “While we want the residents of Forney to love the logo, it is even more important that something about the logo resonate with those you would want to draw here, or to be your next door neighbor.” Some council members seemed drawn to the peaceful feeling the grass seed-head logo gave them. They enjoyed the font that was used but did suggest they find a different image than the seed-head. Some of the audience members resonated with that logo as well, saying that it presented a “laid back and peaceful” image of Forney.
However, the grass seed-head was seen by many as too old school Forney. They felt that it was the opposite image that the new Forney is trying to portray to the rest of the world. In a city that is trying to attract new businesses and that has been clearly progressing towards a more cultural friendly atmosphere, is it the right logo? It is a striking image in the color version and council members felt that it would be worth looking at again once some minor alterations are made.
The top choice, but just barely, seemed to be the logo that was presented as “Version A”. It has a traditional look that the mayor immediately identified with as truly “branding Forney.” It incorporated the feel of “old Forney” and “new Forney” without being, as Aria said, “too ornate or fancy.” The logo struck Mayor Rozell and Councilman Haughey as unique and bold. Some audience members agreed and said that their top choice would be this logo, with a few slight modifications. The suggestions were to open up the sides of the logo to truly reflect the theme of Forney being a “City Without Limits.” The council also felt the font was in fact more ornate than they would like. They asked that it be altered with those suggestions and then presented again with the other logo choice at next week's city council meeting.
Jordan Wollum told the council that Aria would be back next week with refined versions of the two logo options, saying, “We want to give you guys the right choice.” Though it is clear that not everyone will be happy with whatever the outcome is, the new logo, tagline, and re-branding of Forney, seems to be a giant step in the right direction for the residents and businesses in this community.
The images below are for representation only. These logos were presented during a workshop for review and discussion and are not implied to be "finished products".