County staff breathe sigh of relief as reluctant Council approves new logo

Jeff Green | Jul 27, 2016

The new Frontenac County logo was unveiled at the summer meeting of Frontenac County Council in Glenburnie last week (July 20)

Jon Allison, from RedTrain of Kingston, presented the crest-shaped logo and the accompanying InFrontenac tagline with a slide show that outlined the potential uses of the materials for marketing everything from products produced by Frontenac County businesses, to tourism experiences in the county, and the concept of “Frontenac”.

The logo features three swatches of colour: grey representing rocks; green representing agricultural fields; and blue representing water. At the bottom there is a maple leaf, a reference to Canada, and sitting on the swatches of colour there are four trees, which represent the four Frontenac townships.

The graphic renditions of the trees are meant to represent Balsam Fir trees, Jon Allison said.

The word “County” has been deliberately left off the branding materials, except when it is used to identify the county administration itself.

“The idea is to establish the Frontenac identity on its own, not as a political jurisdiction,” said Jon Allison in explaining why RedTrain came to the conclusion that the concept of Frontenac needs to be freed from the bounds of the county to be able to live in the minds of both residents and visitors alike.

He said this determination came from interviewing residents of Frontenac County.

“What do they think now? Those who live/work in the area say 'We love it here. It is our piece of heaven'. But they also say they don’t really think of it beyond the area they live or work in. What do we want them to think? 'I am proud to say I am from Frontenac. It is a large region with incredible diversity and lots to offer. It is so great to see that more and more people are discovering us',” said Allison, in his presentation.

Before the logo was discussed by members of Council, Allison presented numerous applications for it, from billboards, newspaper/magazine ad campaigns, social media applications, and large banners and signage.

The response to the logo by members of Frontenac County Council was muted, at best.

“I'm surprised we got this far with only one option to choose from,” said Frontenac Islands Mayor Dennis Doyle. “I'm missing the wow factor here, and without the explanation I would not know what those colours are supposed to mean. I've also never seen a Fir tree on Wolfe Island.”

Councilor Natalie Nossal, also from Frontenac Islands, thought that the maple leaf at the bottom of the crest looked messy. “It looks to me like something floating in a river.”

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal said, “For me, at least, the word county needs to be there, even in small letters at the bottom.”

The representatives from North Frontenac, Mayor Ron Higgins and Councilor John Inglis, had both seen the logo and tagline when it was presented to the North Frontenac Economic Development Task Force in June. They indicated that as they have become more familiar with the materials, they have grown to like it more and more.

“I like the simplicity of it. I can see this is a brand identity that is going to catch on,” said Higgins.

“The question I have is, where do we go from here?” said Warden Frances Smith.”

That question was answered soon enough. After Council voted to adopt the new branding materials, which came at the end of a three-hour meeting, county staff unfurled some large banners that had already been made up using the logo, advertising “Food to Fork – InFrontenac”, and “Adventure and Tranquility – InFrontenac”.

In the parking lot by the office there was also a brand new Smart Car, with the new logo and tag lines already decaled all over it.

“I guess they weren't exactly waiting for us to approve it,” said Dennis Doyle.