Marking a major step in its brand overhaul, the City of Calgary has released its new iconography to match its new slogan, Blue Sky City.
Calgary’s much-anticipated new logo and visual identity was revealed Wednesday by Calgary Economic Development (CED) and Tourism Calgary — another piece of the city’s $5.8 million rebranding.
Five official logo designs were released alongside several images of posters with designs spinning off those logos. The primary logo, featured on CED’s letterhead, is a large C formed by bead-like circles shaped like the sun. That logo comes in three colours: sky blue, western red and sunshine yellow.
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The Blue Sky City slogan was announced in mid-April, the first public announcement in the city’s rebranding. It serves as a reference to Calgary’s reputation as the sunniest city in Canada, with an average 330 days of sun each year. CED and the city have said the new brand is intended to be inclusive to all Calgarians.
The new logos will be further unveiled at Thursday’s First Flip pancake breakfast at Stephen Avenue.
Creating an all-encompassing, versatile logo that could be adaptable for different corporations and organizations was one of the keys to the rebranding, said Brad Parry, president and CEO of CED. Downloadable logos will be sent to the city’s corporate and city partners for them to use, he said.
“The idea was to build something that all of our partners could see themselves in,” Parry said.
The ad campaigns show different plays on the logo — with many leaning into the new slogan with photos of the sky. “Lift your eyes” reads one poster, while another says, “Here, the blue hues beckon” with a purple-lit sky as its background.
The new logos mark a major step in the city’s $5.8 million rebranding process. To date, $1.7 million has been spent on the brand development and rollout, Parry said. That $1.7 million has so far been spent on research, visual development and creating those assets. Across 26 sectors, 129 organizations have been engaged during this stage of the project.
“We’ve done more engagement in this process than I’ve ever done in my career,” Parry said. “But it’s been so worth it because we heard from voices in our community that traditionally we wouldn’t hear from. We made sure we were actually going out to all quadrants in the city.”
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The city noted it’s not drifting from its roots as it sunsets its previous slogan, Be Part of the Energy, which has largely been defined by the red signs at the city’s edges. Some visuals still retain Calgary’s trademark red visuals — though the campaign heavily leans on blue, in keeping with the new slogan.
The rebranding hasn’t got off scot-free. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith took a jab at the new slogan when it was announced, saying she liked Be Part of the Energy “because not only was it a reference to the energy sector, but it also conveys the vibrancy of Calgary.” The rebrand also caught the eye of Canadian satire website The Beaverton.
Even so, CED has heard “great things” in the months since the Blue Sky City slogan was unveiled, Parry said.
“There’s always going to be people who are detractors, and that’s OK. That’s alright. They have the right to have that opinion,” Parry said.
“But I think once they understand what went into building this, I think people can’t deny the fact that we are truly a great city that’s about the blue sky and the way we think, the way we do, the way we get our stuff done.”
Tourism Calgary CEO Alisha Reynolds said the slogan has been well received on recent international trips, including one to South Korea.
“For me, the brand is founded in truth, which is something that I really like,” she said. “I feel overwhelmingly positive that we have a brand and we have a story that’s rooted in truth.”
CED is working with the City of Calgary to replace its welcome signs, though there’s no timeline for when they’ll be erected. Those signs’ design is being developed, Parry said.
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