Fall River is rebranding. Do you have a logo idea that could land the $500 prize?

FALL RIVER — Want to leave your mark on the city?

Officials are looking to makeover Fall River’s website and official logo, and they're turning to the people who know the city best to help make that happen.

Fall River has a rebranding initiative underway, and it's tapping into its own talent pool with a logo design competition.

"We figured it would be a really great opportunity to get the public involved. Who knows the community better than the residents, the people who work here?" said Elaina Pevide, the city's special projects and media coordinator who is involved with the rebranding effort.

You don't have to be a city resident to join in on the fun. Folks of all ages and levels of graphic design or artistic experience with ties to Fall River are welcome to throw their hat in the ring.

The winning artist will receive a $500 prize, sponsored by Mayor Paul Coogan, merchandise featuring the new logo, and will be recognized at an unveiling ceremony for the new website.

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The new logo is meant to complement the revamped city website, which has been a long time coming, Pevide said.

The website has been a point of discussion among the mayor and city leaders for a while — having fielded numerous complaints over the years about its lack of user-friendliness and outdated content — so they finally got around to taking on the project.

"Whether it's the usability or the content or the aesthetics, we hear from residents a lot that it doesn't really fit the community that much, which is kind of the big reason as to why we wanted to go with the public contest... we wanted it to be something that feels like it comes from the city, from the people … is really in touch with who we are and our history," she said.

The rebranding, which comes on the heels of the city's new Instagram account launch, is about modernizing and moving forward.

"It feels like a really good time to put a new foot forward, freshen up the website, freshen up social media and all of the other components of city services so it's easier to use and also can help us have a good face for visitors and new businesses," Pevide said.

The city's current logo, which can still be found on the website, and catchphrase "Make It Here," was part of a $100,000 city branding initiative launched in 2017 during former mayor Jasiel Correia II's administration. Consultants from Rhode Island were hired to help create a logo, slogan and videos featuring the city’s manufacturing and restaurants and other attractions.

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Rather than hire an outside consultant or marketing firm to do branding for the city, Pevide said Mayor Coogan was firm on not going that route.

"We want it to feel like it's coming from the residents," Pevide said. "This is their website, this is their building, this is their city."

She said they hope the public call for logo designs will help folks feel more involved in the process.

The city is working with graphic designer/photographer Josh Pereira, owner of boutique marketing agency Solmos Creative in Fall River, on the website revamp. He's already started grabbing images for the new site, she said, highlighting the renovated parks and nice things that are happening in the city. He will also help us shape the winning entry into a workable logo for the city’s purposes.

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The new website will be built by Revize, which specializes in designing municipal websites, and is expected to launch by late 2022.

According to Pevide, the total cost of their rebranding effort is estimated at around $30,000, and is being funded through the American Rescue Plan Act under the tourism provision.

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While the city's current 'Make It Here' motto emphasizes industry, Pevide is hoping its new logo can more fully encapsulate all the Spindle City has to offer, pointing to economic development along the waterfront, and growing arts, culture and tourism efforts.

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"Of course that's a huge part of who we are  — our industrial park is near capacity — so we definitely have the industrial vibe that 'Make It Here' gets across but we're a bit more than that too and we're growing to be more than that so that's the motive," Pevide said.

Who will judge the Fall River logo?

The contest will be judged by a panel of residents, artists, city leaders and business owners who have been invited by the mayor to serve on the Website Redesign and Rebranding Advisory Committee.

But, Pevide said, after narrowing down the finalists, they may leave it to residents to make the final call on the winning logo.

"We definitely have talked about putting it out to a vote to have that extra step of resident engagement," she said.

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Participants are welcome to submit artwork that is created digitally or in traditional mediums, such as paint, pencil and marker. The deadline for submitted entries for the logo contest is 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30.

The entry form and complete submission guidelines for the contest (including an entry guide with inspiration and the suggested color palette), are available online at https://www.fallriverma.org/contest/.

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Contestants are asked to keep the design simple enough to be easily replicated in black and white, seen from a distance and so that it can be translated into more complicated formats, like embroidery, for various merchandise.

The city challenges artists to incorporate the unique character and history of Fall River into the logo — "something that manages to feel authentic to the city."

"I think that we have a really open mind. It'll be interesting to see what parts of Fall River people pull through in the logo. Something that embraces our history and who we are but also feels a little bit more modern."

Mayor Coogan looks forward to seeing Fall River's creativity shine.

“Our community is full of passionate people who take pride in our community,” said Coogan. “We have so many talented graphic designers and artists living and working in Fall River, so it made sense to open up this opportunity to the public. Both the new logo and the new website will more positively represent Fall River and the great things that happen here every day. I can’t wait to take a look at the entries!”

For more information about the logo contest, contact the mayor's office at mediarelations@fallriverma.org.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River holds contest to come up with a new city logo in rebranding