Los Angeles' new logo is more than just a special effect. A sprawling city of dreams, LA has been synonymous with the entertainment industry for decades, but it is now also the largest manufacturing hub in America. This cultural and economic upswing has, as they say in the movie industry, created a buzz. And every buzz needs a brand identity.
To celebrate the city’s diverse array of entrepreneurs, Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Mayor's Fund for Los Angeles launched the LA Original campaign, shining the spotlight on LA's extraordinary manufacturing capabilities, while also raising funds to support underserved communities.
72andSunny was the agency tasked with creating a symbol that would embody this dynamic expansion.
The result, which is considered a civic mark rather than a logo for the city, won Epica's Grand Prix for Design. It features an elegantly commodious L and A set apart in order to present a creative space. The end result is tantalisingly interactive, enabling the audience to fill the symbol with their dreams, passions and art.
The core team from 72andSunny were Kelly Schoeffel, executive strategy director and partner; Peter Reid, director of design; Danielle Gard, brand director; Danielle Rivera, brand manager and Garrett Jones, creative director.
Mayor Garcetti himself was also a collaborator along with Ashley Jacobs, director of brand for the City of Los Angeles. 72andSunny's Kelly Schoeffel, who called the mayor a “dream client”, underlines why the time was right for the world's perception of LA to be tweaked.
“LA used to be known for only three things: entertainment, traffic and perfect weather, but the conversation has changed. We have the most exciting culinary scene in America, a cutting-edge art and design scene, a unique craft and maker community, a burgeoning fashion scene, tech companies are flocking to LA and we have the largest manufacturing muscle in America. It was time to stake our claim to our diverse creativity as only LA can.”
The agency won the bid thanks to “talent, passion and chemistry”. Also, as Kelly explains: “We’d already done some great work for LA that helped win the 2028 Olympic bid (including the LA24 logo) and another small project for the Mayor, so the bones of a relationship were in place.”
The logo is supported by a 60 second promotional video featuring LA native Kendrick Lamar – and his track “Humble” – as well as others local notables including chef Roy Choi, artist Shephard Fairey, musician Anna Bulbrook, architect Frank Gehry and LA Philharmonic conductor Gustave Dudamel. Symbolically, there's no trace of old Hollywood here. Peter says it's “because we aren’t making just movies anymore.”
72’s name is a statement of optimism, but it also refers to the famously ideal Los Angeles climate. While many of its clients are based outside LA, the agency currently works with Match, Tinder, Activision and the NFL, who are all based there or have offices in the city. While the core team worked across the campaign, around 300 staff at the agency, regardless of discipline, were asked to present ideas.
“Our first internal presentation deck had more than 250 logos in it,” says Peter. “We wound up sharing three with the Mayor, each very distinct from one another. Had we assigned one or two designers to this, the level of diversity would not have been possible.”
The timeline for the project was very much like life in LA itself; both frenetic and laid-back. “It was really fast, then really slow, then really fast again,” says Kelly. “It took close to two years from brief to get into market. That’s just the reality of working in the civic world. In our case, for example Trump was elected president in the middle of design development, and let’s just say the Mayor had more important things to worry about, such as immigration protests at LAX…But I can’t say enough good things about Mayor Garcetti. His commitment to this project and its impact on the city was unwavering.”
Focus groups were held and Peter Reid describes their light bulb moment. “We had a few favourites on the table but the minute we saw the mark we all had that feeling. This was substantiated as we shared it with the creative community. Many commented that the mark was not only a platform for creativity but an invitation to create. That was pretty magical insight, straight from the mouth of Angelenos.”
Of the creative idea itself he says, “It’s a bottomless pit of executional potential, bringing more depth of meaning to a deceptively simple design. It’s great in 2D and has already shown itself to be a 3D wonder, for example as seen on a park bench, various art installations and Instagrammable walls.”
It seems that while the iconic Hollywood sign continues to stand strong as a beacon to the movie industry, the LA Original logo has a bright future. “It's truly wonderful to know we helped brand the city we call home,” says Kelly. “We see this as a 50-year idea and can only hope the mark endures the test of time, as well as the sentiment and spirit behind the whole campaign.”
This article appears in Epica Book 32, published in September 2019, featuring all the winners and selected high-scoring entries from the previous year's awards.