Dereksworld:
Out of context: Reply #30
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Arts Council finds out 'A' is for anger
The Scotsman, 28.03.02
The Scottish Arts Council was criticised last night for unveiling a new £21,000 logo just weeks after it revealed a stand-still budget across most of its activities.
The new design replaces a logo which was said to be impractical for use on the SAC website and was "not functional when used as a funding credit".
The motif features a stylised letter "A", which is said to be legible at all sizes in printed and digital media.
In a statement, the SAC explained the change. "A is for art. The simple and sculptural shape of the logo is clean-edged, classic and quietly modern. The inner part is hand-drawn to show that we support people and creativity. Sky blue is the colour of the Scottish Saltire."
The cost of the logo, however, raised hollow laughter from bodies disappointed by recent arts funding decisions.
In January, the SAC revealed a budget of £56 million for the year. Though some theatre companies benefited from extra Scottish Executive funds, most of the budget was frozen.
Heather Baird, of the Scottish Federation of Theatre, said: "It seems an awful lot of money to spend and could pay someone's salary for a year. It's more than most companies would spend on a production budget."
The SAC said the new logo, designed by Graven Images, was funded by its existing communications budget.
The controversy arose as the SAC announced five-year plans for the visual arts, music and crafts, and revealed a continuing commitment to use the arts to tackle social exclusion.
Speaking at the Arts for All conference in Glasgow, Scottish culture minister Mike Watson said £1.75 million had been ear-marked to aid children's involvement in the arts. Lord Watson said the money would be used to fund 188 part-time cultural co-ordinators in schools.
He said: "I'm convinced the arts are making a real difference to communities. The psychological and physical benefits can be life-changing."
Amanda Catto, head of visual arts for the SAC, acknowledged stand-still funding was hurting. However, she said the SAC would seek to increase investment in the visual arts.
Ms Catto added that a plan for residential bases in Amsterdam and New York would help Scottish artists raise their international profile.
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cool.
i honestly didnt know of this logo until the whole quark situation...
i just saw it a long time ago as a cool shape, being used for various graphic designs, and flipped it around and scaled it, played with it, and saw a lower-case "d" in it, so i decided to use it...