The city of Killen, Alabama, recently spent more than $1,300 to purchase replacement flags which bear the town logo. Killen is a very small town (about 1,200 people) with a small budget. The mayor of Killen, Jerry Mitchell said the logo is important because it has a unifying theme and is an indicator of growth.
The Killen logo was designed four years ago. The goal of the logo was to incorporate town specific elements. “The blue on the background represents the water, and the red represents the red of the blood, sweat and tears of those who have gone before us. There’s also a picture of the new Shoal Creek Bridge and the old Lock Six,” said Mitchell. Lions on the logo represent the mascot of the local high school and the Lions club, a local civic organization. “Beauty of the Past. Hope of the Future” also adorn the logo.
What do you see when you look at the logo? What story does it tell you? I see a logo with way too many elements. There is way too much going on with this. A logo should be simple and clean and this is too busy. I totally agree that you can convey a message and tell a story with a logo. I think of the FedEx logo with the arrow. Now that is a great, simple logo that conveys a message.
When I look at the Killen logo, it reminds me of the small business that tries to incorporate every aspect of the business in the logo. They want to squeeze the phone number, license number, website, address, etc. into the logos. Here is my advice to you small business owners reading this: please keep your logo simple. Don’t try to include EVERYTHING in your logo.
