Long Beach to Hold Contest for City Logo

This city is well on its way to getting what it has never had: a logo. Of course, the city will have to pay a price.

As part of a new identity campaign, the city is offering $5,000 for any design firm, advertising agency, free-lance designer or design student to come up with a logo that will be used for city stationery, publications, entry markers, promotional materials and vehicles.

Long Beach has been using a seal or a City Hall sketch to mark such objects. With the chosen logo, officials hope to make everything that signifies city government consistent, said Laura Winger, a marketing consultant for the city.

Although promotional agencies and private groups have created their own logos in the past, Long Beach is yet to have one all-encompassing logo that all aspects of city government can use.

The city has placed few specifications on what is wanted, except that the logo must add visibility to Long Beach. If the designer so chooses, only the words “City of Long Beach” can be part of the logo. And, unlike the city seal, it has to look modern.

“Obviously, we are looking for something that is timely,” Winger said. “We are looking for something that won’t be outdated 10 years from now.”

Winger said that about 100 people have inquired about the contest so far.

In 1933, Roland S. Gulow, a draftsman for the city’s Engineering Department, won $150 for designing the city’s first seal, which features a woman standing on the coastline in front of smoke stacks, oil wells, a ship and an airplane.

All entries are due at 4 p.m. Sept. 6. A panel of city officials will determine the winner by Sept. 8. The contest prize money comes from Long Beach’s promotional budget, Winger said. Potential contestants may contact Winger at 590-6095.