HELLO NEW LOOK!
Merton Council
The London Borough of Merton required a complete refresh of its corporate visual identity to modernize its image, improve digital functionality, and align its presentation with its ambitious Council Plan 2023–2026 and strategic priorities. The new brand had to be simple, professional, and versatile, ensuring a strong, unified, and consistent presentation across all channels.
Background and Challenges
The current visual identity, centered on the waterwheel logo (representing the River Wandle) and the original green and purple palette, has been in use for over 30 years (since 1992). This identity was created in a pre-digital age and was considered outdated and tired. It felt somewhat disjointed and lacking a unified visual system.
OLD LOGO
Key Objectives
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Replace the outdated identity with a vibrant, simplistic, and versatile brand that is easily adaptable across an ever-growing range of digital platforms.
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Present a more modern and professional face outside of Merton to aid in recruiting the best talent to the council and the borough.
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Investment put Merton on the map and increase awareness that it is a London Borough. The brand must send a clear message that Merton is open and ready to do business and attract external investment.
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Nurture civic pride and reinforce the delivery of the three strategic priorities: Nurturing civic pride, Building a sustainable future, and Creating a Borough of Sport.
The abstract 'M' icon is the central solution to replacing the historical waterwheel while achieving modern functionality. The icon is composed of two simple geometric shapes (quadrilaterals), resulting in a clean, sharp, and contemporary aesthetic. This distances the brand from the "outdated and tired" look of the previous complex, illustrative logo.
It's geometric simplicity ensures high legibility at extreme sizes—a crucial requirement for digital functionality and small print applications, which the old logo struggled with.
By using sharp lines and a structured, almost segmented shape, the icon subtly references the geometric patterns and clean lines of the Art Deco/Art Nouveau architecture mentioned in the brief's rationale, providing a modern nod to the borough's visual heritage without being literal.
The full, official lockup explicitly uses "THE LONDON BOROUGH OF MERTON" This directly tackles the objective to "Put Merton on the map" and increase awareness that it is a "London Borough" - a critical step for attracting talent and external investment.
Custom Lockups (e.g., Sponsored by Merton): The design clearly allows for flexible applications. The single-color, two-shape icon visually separates the full wordmark, enabling clean, branded lockups (like the 'Sponsored by' examples). This flexibility is vital for co-branding, partnerships, and communication across various council services.
The strong 'M' shape ensures that even without the full wordmark, the icon instantly signals Merton.
Colour Palette and Typography
By keeping green and purple, albeit with slightly fresher shades, honours the links to the boroughs sporting heritage. Did someone say Wimbledon?
The specific shades chosen are deep, rich, and vibrant. This addresses the need to move away from older shades to a palette that looks professional and reproduces well across digital screens and high-quality print, enhancing the perception of a modern and credible council.
The typography is clear, modern, and professional, lending an air of authority and trust—essential for a public service organisation. It accompanied by a balanced, modern sans-serif font with rounded terminals.
