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New design of Yogya marketing logo sparks criticism
A plan by the Yogyakarta provincial administration to revamp the provinceâs 15-year-old marketing logo and tagline has sparked controversy
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plan by the Yogyakarta provincial administration to revamp the province's 15-year-old marketing logo and tagline has sparked controversy.
Many residents have complained the new logo reads like 'Togua' instead of 'Jogja'. Others have said the letters are too thin and have criticized the new tagline, 'Jogja New Harmony', which will replace the old tagline, 'Jogja Never Ending Asia'.
Street artist Andrew Lumban Gaol said the new logo was ugly and that he was not sure tourists would pay attention to the logo or be attracted to Yogyakarta after seeing it.
'The result is like an assignment completed by a first semester student studying visual design,' he said on Saturday.
He added that it would be better if the administration focused on more important social and cultural issues.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Yogyakarta branch of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA), Edwin Ismedi, said the new logo was less attractive. 'The tagline, 'Jogja New Harmony', is like a real-estate advertisement,' Edwin said.
Unlike Andrew, Edwin believed that the logo and tagline were an important branding effort that could have a 'mystical' ability to bring visitors to Yogyakarta.
Separately, head of the Yogyakarta Development Planning Board's (Bappeda) administration division, Biworo Yuswantono, said the administration considered the new marketing logo important given Yogyakarta's special province status established by Law No. 13/2012.
'There has been a renaissance in thought from (Yogyakarta Governor) Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X about building a new kind of society, which explains why a rebranding is needed,' Biworo told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
In principle, he said, the logo sent the message that Yogyakarta Palace and its cultural values were useful for the people and helped uphold the country's founding philosophy, Pancasila.
The logo was designed by president of the World Marketing Association (WMA), Hermawan Kertajaya, and his team from Markplus Inc.; the same team that designed the previous logo.
Biworo said that the province's specialty funds covered the cost of the design and launch of the new logo, which amounted to Rp 1.5 billion (US$124,120). Specialty funds are funds provided by the central government to provinces that have special status.
'I forget the exact figure, but the budget for Hermawan and his team was less than Rp 500 million,' he said.
He said there was still a possibility for the new logo design to be changed, as the launch was scheduled for the end of November or the beginning of December.
'The final decision will be in the governor's hands,' he said.
Meanwhile, Hermawan said the contentious debate could be a positive.
'According to the marketing theory, successful branding indeed incites questions,' Hermawan said as quoted by Tribun Jogja on Thursday.
He added that he would continue monitoring suggestions and criticisms.
