Three potential new village logos and two new tag lines were officially unveiled at the Feb. 11 Niles Economic Development and Neighborhood Renewal Commission meeting.
On May 27, the Niles Village Board voted to hire LS+Team, a Glen Ellyn branding consultant, to revamp the village brand by giving it a new logo and a tag line. The move came in response to a recommendation from the Economic Development and Neighborhood Renewal Commission, which argued that rebranding was necessary to encourage new development and attract new businesses and residents.
During the Feb. 11 meeting, the majority of the commission spoke strongly in favor of a logo featuring the Leaning Tower of Niles and other images arching over the village name. But when it came to tag lines, the majority of the commission didn’t like either of the choices presented. The commission ultimately decided to think of some suggestions and review them for the next meeting.
The current Niles logo, which features a red, white and blue shield with the village name and the phrase “All America City,” dates back to 1968. Niles’ current tag line is “Where people count,” though the village also used “#1 Place to Raise Kids” as a secondary tag line since 2011. The tag line is a reference to a 2011 Businessweek article spotlighting communities that are affordable and kid-friendly. Most village documents – such as meeting agendas – have both tag lines somewhere on them.
In their presentation to the Economic Development and Neighborhood Renewal Commission, LS+Team owner Lisa Sallwasser and LS+Team partner Stephanie Goodman explained how they arrived at the logos and tag lines they proposed.
Goodman said that the company interviewed a total of 26 interviews, eight of which were with owners of Niles businesses. Each interviewee was asked four questions – how they felt about Niles, what were the village’s strengths and weaknesses, what characteristics they would ascribe to Niles and how would they describe Niles to non-resident friends. The business owners were asked a fifth question – what would make the village the best place to live and work?
LS+Team also talked to village employees and several Niles community organizations to get additional input.
The company took that information and set out to craft logos and tag lines based on the common themes found in those responses. They wanted to create something that would convey that Niles is a safe, comfortable, family-friendly, pro-business village with diverse neighborhoods and good public amenities. They also wanted to touch on the village’s proximity to Chicago an O’Hare Airport.
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Sallwasser said that LS+Team felt that Niles’ current logo and tag lines were too generic. The company, she said, was trying to create a tag line that was more unique and evocative.
“We want tag lines that feel inspirational and aspirational, [such as] ‘Open Up,’ ‘Your Life, Animated,'” said Sallwasser.
In the end, LS+Team came up with two tag lines – “Rules Rewritten, Stories Told” and “New Thinking, Next Door.”
The first tag line, Sallwasser explained, was designed to reflect that Niles was progressive and had a diverse population that had plenty of stories to tell. In the second tag line, “next door” was a reference to both the Niles’ proximity to Chicago and one’s next-door neighbors.
For the logo, Sallwasser said LS+Team was aiming for “timeless colors” and timeless design. All logos used orange, blue and green.
The first logo featured with graphic with the Leaning Tower, the Niles Free Bus, the park trees and some generic buildings arching over the village name written all-caps. The tag line, rendered in a green handwritten-style font, was placed right below.
The second logo featured the map of Niles with Milwaukee Avenue and other major thoroughfares outlined in white. The village name was located to the right of the map, with the tag line placed right below the name.
The third logo features the letter “N” inside an equilateral rhombus, with the right corner of it forming a green arrow that pointed toward the village name.
Niles Economic Development Director and commission member Ross Klicker said that, while he didn’t have anything against any logo, he personally preferred the third.
“I like it for the more corporate feel I can present to businesses,” he said.
Klicker added that he liked its corner-as-arrow element.
“It’s very subtle, but it’s subtle things that stick in people’s minds,” he said.
Most commission members spoke in support of the first logo, arguing that it captured Niles’ family-friendly feel and highlighted the village’s amenities and points of interest. Commission member Vicki Peake echoed the thoughts of many members when she weighed the strengths and weaknesses the logos.
“Aesthetically, I like number one,” she said. “It incorporates everything together. Other logos look a little too corporate and not as friendly.”
Niles Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director Katie Schneider felt that the first logo does the better job of attracting people, and offered a good representation of Niles at events.
Many commission members took issue with the “Rules Rewritten” part of the first tag line, expressing concerns that it invites lawbreaking. Commission member Julie Genualdi, a Park Ridge police officer, noted that the logo will be used everywhere, including the Niles Police Department.
“On a police badge, ‘Rules Rewritten’ sends a very mixed message,” she said.
Niles Communications and Multimedia Coordinator Hayley Garard defended the tag line, arguing that it can have good connotations – and that it works great from a marketing perspective.
“For me, ‘Rules Rewritten, Stories Told’ gives me a lot to work with,” she said. “I can visualize it going in all sorts of directions.”
Garard used the city newsletter as an example.
“I do our newsletter, and recently I started putting in resident stories, and they are great stories,” said Garard.
Mayor Andrew Przybylo called it bold and eye-catching, which worked well for Niles, he said.
“It’s very dynamic, and you want that dynamism,” Przybylo said.
While commission members didn’t have objections to the second tag line, most weren’t enthusiastic about it. Many members offered alternative tag lines, including “New Thinking, Stories Told,” “Just Be There” and “Live, Work and Thrive.”
Klicker took the poll of the commission members. For the logo, 14 commission members voted for the first option, one voted for the second and three voted for the third. For the tag line, five voted for the first option, three voted for the second option and 13 voted for “none of the above.”
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After some discussion, commission members agreed to think of tag line suggestions and send them to Village Secretary Cathy Spadoni by Feb. 20. They would discuss the submissions at the next meeting.
“Go home, and for the next week, think of 3-4 words that are captivating, that describe the Village of Niles in a positive way,” said Przybylo.
Igor Studenkov is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.