487K Montreal logo
Out of context: Reply #60
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- noneck0
Keep in mind a couple of things:
1) The agency didn't really set the price. These things are put out to bid, usually with an stated budget. The city knows how much it was willing to spend.
2) Designing an ID system for a city is not the same as designing an logo for a private corporation with a single owner.
3) If you've ever had the opportunity to work for a government–be it municipal, provincial, or federal–you know what a pain in the ass they are to work with.
Working with government clients is a tremendous pain in the ass. I would lump universities in there too. You have never had such a difficult client. They'll send in two people for every person the agency sends to a meeting, and each of their people is there to represent the interests of four others that couldn't make it.
Any decision needs to be run past a large committee, who then runs it up past other decision makers for feedback.
And then, because your work is for a public organization, it needs to be completely safe. Is there ANY possibility that this could offend even 0.00001% of the population? Because that person exists, will see the work, and will be offended. This work is incredibly sensitive.
Then, lets say that the work has something wrong with it, a tiny little detail that makes it into the newspapers (because it will). Doesn't matter where the fault actually lies, the agency takes the blame. Even if the work doesn't have something wrong with it, the agency ends up in the media anyways with this kind of discussion. "City pays $500K for this waste of money" kind of articles are easy targets for the media.
It can be pretty tough to justify the real cost of an identity project to a client, even if you only bill $3000. A lot of work gets done for that money, and the deliverables are pretty skimpy. Combine that with the complexities of working with a government? $500K for creative is a bargain.
- Having said that, the logo is nice, not great. And logos for govts are never a good idea.noneck