Brand Refresh

There is a new look for the City of Visalia...

2024 marks Visalia’s 150th year as an incorporated city with a common council. As we honor this important milestone, coming on the heels of 100 years as a Charter City, we celebrate a new look and promise.

Thanks to the guidance of the Visalia City Council, and the contributions of members across the community, the City has completed a brand refresh and is rolling out Visalia’s new logo, new tagline and more.

Get Involved in the Logo Redesign

Updated 6.18.24

All Visalians interested in receiving notifications on the brand refresh and logo process can email [email protected] to be placed on an email list that will send updates as they are available.

At the City Council meeting on Monday, June 17, the City Council voted to begin the City logo redesign process for a community driven redesign (View the Agenda Item Staff Report here). The new City logo will be the companion to our Legacy Logo, with both being used for the City of Visalia. Submissions for this logo redesign will be accepted from Tuesday, June 18 through Tuesday, July 2 at 5 p.m. PT.

To view and complete the submission form, click here. (Submission window closes July 2 at 5 p.m. PT).

For the full Brand Refresh Logo Redesign Guidelines, click here.

The Logo Redesign Process

The City of Visalia Brand Refresh Logo Redesign Process will follow the following timeline:

Monday, June 17, 2024: City Council votes and directs staff to open the logo redesign process
Tuesday, June 18, 2024: Submission period for community submitted logos opens.
Tuesday, July 2, 2024: Submission period for community submitted logos closes.
Monday, July 8 & Wednesday, July 10, 2024: Brand Refresh Logo Design Committee meets to review submissions. Committee will review submissions and provide three to five logos that meet the guidelines, along with formal feedback and recommendations to the staff, for further action and preparation for the community feedback period.
Monday, July 15, 2024: Public comment feedback period opens.
Friday, July 26, 2024: Public comment feedback period closes.
Monday, August 5, 2024: City Council receives the results of the Committee and public feedback via agenda item and staff report at their regularly scheduled City Council meeting and may choose to vote on the new City of Visalia Brand Refresh logo.

For questions or more information, contact Allison Mackey, Communications Manager, at [email protected].

Stay Up to Date!

As updates are available specific to the Brand Refresh Logo Redesign Process, email blasts will be sent to all those who have shared they would like to stay informed on the process. To be added to our update list, please email [email protected].

The Journey of our Brand Refresh

Updated 6.18.24

Informed by over 800 conversations, surveys and interviews completed with Visalians, the process has included updating the City’s identity, image, and brand to market the positive aspects of working for and living in the City of Visalia.

At the June 3, 2024 City Council meeting, the Council received a staff presentation on the brand refresh and new City logo. After receiving public comment, the Council voted to modify the current logo and retain the previous logo as a "Legacy Logo" that will be utilized in situations where it can be appropriately displayed and it's detail clearly noted.

Additionally, Council voted to open the brand refresh logo design process again and create a process wherein local artists/graphic designers can submit designs, (that align with the requirements of a scope of work/design), have those designs reviewed by a panel of local graphic and marketing professionals, with a selection of final logos presented to the community to be voted on via community meetings or digital voting methods. The Council will then consider the results and make a final selection.

At the Monday, June 17 meeting, the City Council directed staff to open the Logo Redesign Process from June 18 through July 2, 2024. Submissions will be accepted until 5 p.m. PT on July 2, 2024 online or in-person. Following the timeline noted above, the community will be asked for feedback with an ultimate decision being made by the City Council.

Until that time, we'll be using the Legacy Logo on anything new that includes the City of Visalia logo. We’re determining now the process for the items that had the Spring 2024 logo on them and how they should be handled.

Our new tagline is, Visalia: A Better Way of Living.

It is a promise to residents, businesses, visitors - all those who are Visalia. It is, “In all we do, we do it with heart. The City of Visalia and our employees are dedicated to providing quality services and creative solutions to make the community a place we are proud to call home. We strive to deliver services in an approachable and friendly way - the Visalia way.”

Elements of the Brand Refresh

Our brand refresh is much more than a new logo, it's a opportunity that allows us to honor our heritage while looking towards the future. The community-based collaborative process set the foundation for the elements of the refresh, which include items below, and many more.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to enhance the lives of Visalians by providing services and solutions that create a vibrant and connected community.

City Values

Community: We care deeply for our community and strive to provide transparency and equitable services in an approachable and friendly way.

Opportunity: We are dedicated to enhancing Visalia by providing opportunities for economic and social development.

Vibrancy: We embrace unique perspectives and backgrounds to create a vibrant and welcoming city.

Learn More About the Process

Fun Fact: There have been at least six logos officially used by the City of Visalia since 1948! Our brand refresh will welcome a new logo, that is fresh, conceived from community input, and will be easier to replicate on materials ranging from embroidered staff uniforms to digital recruitment brochures.

The matter of a brand refresh was discussed on six different City Council Agendas. Those dates are:

March 15, 2021 - City Council reviewed Fiscal Year 2020/2021 mid-year financial report with recommended budget appropriations. At this meeting, the City Council authorized the Capital Project Request of City Rebranding for $50,000.

March 21, 2022 – Work Session and Action Items #1
City Council approved Proposed Capital Projects by Fund, Project #ADCP09 City Logo Refreshment for Fiscal Year 2024-25 for a total of $50,000.

August 15, 2022 – Consent Calendar item #6
City Council appropriated an additional $25,000 to cover additional costs of completing the administrative portion of the City of Visalia Human Resources Marketing and Branding services; and appropriated $75,000 to cover the anticipated costs of undertaking and completing the administrative portion of the City of Visalia rebranding (Citywide Rebranding); and authorized staff to utilize the services of We The Creative by amending the current contract the City of Visalia Human Resources Division currently has with the firm for a total of $150,000.

April 17, 2023 – Work Session and Action Items #2
As part of the review of the Fiscal Year 2022/23 mid-year financial report, Council made a General Fund Capital Project appropriation of $50,000 for City rebranding implementation.

August 7, 2023 – Work Session and Action Items #3
Approve the new City of Visalia logo number, it had been determined to take the “Breaking through the V” design in five formats (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, dependent on Council choice), the new Mission Statement, Vision Statement, Brand Promise, City Values and Tagline. The presentation noted that the current logo was expensive to produce on materials due to colors and intricacy of design.

November 6, 2023 – Work Session and Action Items #2
Approve the new City of Visalia logo R5-Fox Theatre and choose the new City of Visalia color palette, (Color Palette 1, Color Palette 2, or Color Palette 3, dependent on Council choice). Included a process recap for those who may not have been in attendance previously on August 7, 2023. Logo development was reviewed, as were color palettes.

June 3, 2024, AUDIO- Regular Session Item #5 - Logo Discussion and potential direction regarding the new City of Visalia logo.

Working with a Consultant and Financial Details

View the Infographic Here

The Human Resources Division prepared a Request for Proposal (RFP No. 21-22-22) for HR Marketing and Branding Services, which kicked off the process.

Three proposals were received and evaluated. The proposal evaluation process included an in-depth review of each proposal as well as an interview with each company. The proposal scores were tabulated, and the highest scoring proposer was We The Creative, a firm that specializes in public sector clients, We The Creative. On April 4, 2022, HR staff recommended awarding the contract for this RFP to We The Creative in the amount of $75,000 (Account No. 1010-72000/CPO468-999).

After seeing the strength of the understanding of the HR Marketing and Branding project, proposal scoring and depth of knowledge and experience with other government agencies in the proposal from We The Creative, it was determined it would be beneficial, in both staff time and resources, to prepare a Scope of Work for the Citywide Rebranding and request that We The Creative submit a quote to expand the HR scope of work to include the entire City organization. We The Creative agreed to review the Citywide Rebranding scope of work and submitted a quote totaling $74,750.

The project total, including but not limited to, research, discovery, surveys, feedback process, design and over 1,200 assets including a City logo, total $150,000.