AUSTIN - After seven years in the works and roughly $1.1 million in public funds, the City of Austin is rolling out its first official, unified logo on October 1.
Designed with input from Austin-based firm TKO and global agency Pentagram, the stylized blue-and-green “A” is meant to symbolize the region’s hills, rivers, and bridges through a clean, modern aesthetic.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax says the rebrand aims to replace some 300 department-specific logos with one cohesive mark, making city messaging instantly recognizable across websites, vehicles, newsletters and more - though uniforms for public safety will stay the same for clarity.
But Austinites aren’t exactly embracing it. On Facebook, Donna Arwood wrote, “I find this a Cracker Barrel attempt… the result kind of lame. The current city logo is somewhat stale, I agree. But … it’s better than this.”
Reddit users jumped in too, likening the logo to “Albertsons” (the supermarket), and calling it “corporate and soulless” - a far cry from Austin’s “Keep Austin Weird” identity.
That said, not all feedback was negative. Ricardo Garcia, a 10-year Austin resident and UT grad, told CBS Austin, “It looks cool. I like it. I like the waves. I like the lines.”
Others, like Itati Garza, questioned the timing, asking whether the money might have been better spent on pressing needs like housing or infrastructure - especially with a tax rate election on the horizon.
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