"Downtown Experience" disappears under the waves

Directional signage had been erected in downtown Fort Wayne to tout the theme of "The Downtown Experience."  Indeed, the logo of "The Downtown Experience" was at the bottom of each of the signs.

Over the last several weeks, "The Downtown Experience" has disappeared from the signs to be replaced with three wave-like lines seemingly borrowed from the "Fort Wayne - Room for Dreams" logo.

At last night's Fort Wayne City Council meeting, Chairman Steve Brodie and new Director Rich Davis of the Downtown Improvement District appeared before the Council to give their annual report on the DID.

During the presentation, City Council member Tom Smith asked about the logo switch.  He said that he had witnessed the old logo being scraped off a sign.  He wanted to know if anyone could explain what had happened and who paid for it.  No one had any information.

FWOb brings you a photo of the new sign.  FWOb would welcome anyone who might direct us to a photo of the previous signs bearing "The Downtown Experience" logo.

UPDATE: FWOB thanks Scott Spaulding for responding to the photo request. The photos have been placed side by side above for your comparison of the logos.

Comments

[Patrick McAlister]

I'm just hoping that horrendous and idiotic "theme song" never ever comes back. What a colossal waste of time and energy.

Ed. note: Readers may assume you are referring to this"

http://www.vimeo.com/221314

[Kristina Frazier-Henry]

So hey - Fort Wayne is like a marketing team's dream job, right? City of Fort Wayne...FWCS...everybody wants to brand and logo and change the surface stuff.

Frickin' awesome!

What's the next re-branding/logo-changing project?!

[sherirouse]

I don't think that is quite fair Ms. Frazier-Henry. FWCS logo was in my opinion definitely in need of updating. I don't fault the corporation for wanting to update.

Our business just changed it's logo because we changed locations and needed to update our antiquated 20+ year old logo and catch the community's eye.

[Toby Mac]

I think you are missing the point Ms Rouse. All these PR schemes cost a lot of money that can be better spent elsewhere considering the fiscal meltdown that is beginning to ensnare the city.

[Mike Harvey]

And of course, police officers in their spare time or 3rd year graphic arts students seriously could have done better:

http://everett-white.com/?p=46

[Andy Welfle]

Wow -- thank you for covering this vital, important issue. The mysterious logo scraper will not escape unscathed!

Ed. note: Andy, I think you missed the point.

Most of the new logo presentations done by governmental units or non-profits in the community are done with fanfare, press conferences, and breathless unveilings as if a change in logo automatically heralds a bright new age of enlightenment.

These are generally covered - actually overcovered - by the regular media as if the unveilings were, to use your descriptive phrase "vital, important issue[s]".

Many of the logos and the ancillary branding materials are produced at some expense - in many cases, at considerable expense.

This is a case where such a logo has been scrapped - at some expense. And as yet, we don't know the parent or the reasoning.

[Kristina Frazier-Henry]

Hi Sheri, please - call me Kristina - we're all like family here :).

As a (formerly) proud alumni of said school system, I think that changing a logo and pimping your students out (YOU=School System) on the school website is like putting lipstick on a pig and then entering said pig into the Miss America beauty pageant (and then wondering why you came in last place because hey - you checked all the "right" boxes).

And yes, I'm pretty passionate about this because students shouldn't be asked to sell the school system to outsiders. They should be FOCUSED on learning AND on being a kid while they still have that opportunity. Don’t worry, they can all grow up and work in Marketing. Believe me – I know this first hand.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed every time I look at that web site. The fact that the administrators of FWCS aren't (embarrassed) - well - I just don't understand their logic. We obviously don't share the same, basic values and thoughts on education. I have major, cognitive dissonance whenever I think about what has happened to FWCS – specifically – the past 5-6 years.

I am reminded of some lessons Miss Sandra McDougall – my third grade teacher at Indian Village Elementary School – taught us.

You see, we did these really cool SRA thingies and people thought that getting done fast and taking short cuts meant that you were "smart"/"smarter" than others. It was a race and obviously, if you didn't finish in record time, you were an idiot.

People were so consumed with this race, do you think any real learning occurred? Of course not. So while Miss McDougall could have rewarded people for their speed (because after all - speed does mean something in other professions - like maybe Olympic Trials) she put a stop to this activity pretty quickly.

Why?

I assume it's because she wanted us to understand, think, comprehend...learn. Not be distracted by false "wins".

Know what she did? Oh boy. She taught us a lesson I will never forget. She made us record all of our answers to the SRA activities (which we did in class) with a red pencil which had no eraser.

Why? I'm paraphrasing - but the essence of her message was:

1) You need to think about the consequences of what you do. If you know you can't erase your answer, you will put more thought into the answer you provide in the space allotted.

2) If you consistently do a good job, people will notice. I will notice. You don't need to tell me you're smart. Telling me you are smart and racing through the SRA cards will lead me to believe that you are careless and NOT smart.

I loved Miss McDougall for that and many other important lessons she taught us that year.

Rhetorical question: In 20 or 30 years, are the kids of this current school system – will they have these kinds of experiences to share with their children? Or will it be – oh wow – it was so cool! I had my picture on the front page of the website and all of these people treated me like I was a celebrity…

And the logo? I didn't care one lick about it and neither did my parents. And the colleges who accepted me and the employers who hired me - not once did they ask me about the marketing slant of the schools I attended. They looked at the basics – the fundamentals.

Academic reputation of the school system. Grades. Test scores. Volunteer activities. Their potential. That’s what colleges and employers are looking for in recent graduates.

I better stop before Mitch kicks me off of here!

[Dan Carmody]

Hello from Motor City

I had a hand in this during my time with DID

First off the tagline The Downtown Experience is no brand. It is very generic almost without meaning.

Second off while I agree with the earlier comment about the song we thought it was important to support the Room for Dreams concept because it was a much more thorough attempt at branding.

Lastly, and most importantly, the size of the font on signs meant to be read by those passing in cars was so small that it was illegible - the graphic of the room for dreams a much better use of the space.

I hope this sheds some light on scapergate. Now if you don't mind I'll return to local pressing civic issues around here :)

Ed. note: Agreed on the font.

We'll talk about those pressing civic issues there and here when we next touch base.

By the way, Dan, I always appreciated your calling things by their real names - something in short supply here.

You were rather forthright in saying that the DID was supported by a special tax on downtown property owners located in the district.

I am afraid that the DID has reverted to using euphemisms such as "voluntary assessment."

[Sheri Rouse]

Kristina,

Well said, and I agree with most of what you say. I have adegree in elementary education and have chosen not to use it in a school system because I can't deal with eveyrthing else it entails instead of merely teaching.

[Scott Howard (ScLoHo)]

Back to the signage. I was waiting at a traffic light at Washington Center Road recently and noticed that I was about to enter Downtown Ft. Wayne. Has anyone else noticed how much "Downtown" has grown?

And according to this signage, the current Wizards stadium would be already considered in the Downtown District.......

[Ron Dick]

Ok, here's the deal. This is my first blog ever, so be kind... even you Carmody. I do know a little something about the sign mystery. Our company was hired by the City (after a proposal and bidding process) to design the wayfinding system that includes the "signs-in-question". The first batch were designed and installed a couple of years ago. This was done with much input from many stakeholders. At the time "The Downtown Experience" was (as Carmody mentioned) the best thing we had at the time to deal with. I am not sure of the source, but through the stakeholder and client (City of Fort Wayne) input, there was space at the bottom of the sign that needed filled. Hey, how about "The Downtown Experience"? Sounds good. Ok, that was the first batch of signs. This Phase I Wayfinding project was intended to lead the traveling public to the districts and attractions in downtown Fort Wayne. Fast forward to Phase II Wayfinding, circa 2008. This new batch of signs was designed, publicly bid by contractors and constuction/ installation is now under way. The purpose of this batch is to lead people from the interstates (and the airport) to downtown through a series of strategically placed signs along the major arteries. Once downtown, you can then find the original batch of signs, and some other new signs that show you where public parking lots occur. Another, soon to be installed part of the Phase II wayfinding signs are some pedestrian kiosks. So you can get out of your car and learn of (and be directed to) the attractions in Downtown Fort Wayne.
Ok, back to the question about the waves. Obviously, the "Room for Dreams" branding project occurred between Phase I and the current project. As a part of this Phase II Wayfinding project, the sign contractors were asked to bid on removing "The Downtown Experience" graphic, and replace it with the more timely "Room for Dreams" waves. Dan C. from the Motor City is correct... there is no way you could read "Room for Dreams" on the sign, thus, the waves! Again, this project was competitively bid, and the scraping was only a very small part of the overall project. I hope this clears up the mystery...
One last comment. Again, since this project is scheduled (and funded) in 2008, and the ballpark will be open in 2009, the signs indicate the ballpark downtown... just so nothing gets scraped off and covered up next year.