Sherburne County is in the process of developing a new logo and slogan, and county officials would like public input to help guide them.

 

Last month, the county hired Switchboard Advertising to update the county’s logo, tagline (slogan) and the Sherburne County Economic Development and Parks & Trails logo at a cost of $44,500.

 

Administrator Steve Taylor said the existing logo, which was created for the county’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2006, was no longer representative of the present and future county.

 

“It hasn’t stood the test of time. It encapsulated Sherburne County pretty well because it shows a blend of rural and urban activities, which is pretty important to our identity,” he said. “But prominently displayed is the old Government Center, which doesn’t exist anymore.”

 

With the Government Center going through a major expansion project, Taylor said it’s time to look at upgrading the logo and developing a slogan.

 

“With the new construction, we’ll have over 1,000 interior signs. Also planned is a large monument sign,” he said. “We also have plans to redesign our website and change logos on vehicles and letterheads.”

 

Taylor says the firm is in the research stage of the process, gathering information about the county  before putting together any designs. The consultant went to the Sherburne County Fair and spoke with people about their experiences in the county and what they though were good representations of the county.

 

They also looked at designs from other cities and counties to see what works and doesn’t work.

 

“You want it to be something where you can readily identify it as being Sherburne County,” says Taylor. “What’s our identity? What makes us attractive to all generations?”

 

To help figure out what makes Sherburne County unique, the county has added a survey on its website.

 

“We’re looking for residents and businesses to complete this survey,”  says Taylor. “We’re  asking 12 questions about Sherburne County to help us portray what makes us unique.”

 

The survey is on the main page of the county’s website at www.co.sherburne.mn.us. Just look for the clipboard icon in the center of the page. It takes about three minutes.

 

Taylor says they already have 700 responses, so people are interested in giving their input.

 

The information will be one piece of the puzzle in determining what the future county logo will look like.

 

The consultant will be developing four to six designs, which will be narrowed down by a committee that meets every two weeks. Their choices will be presented to the county board within the next two months for their decision.

 

“This is pretty exciting. No one has any idea what this is going to end up looking like,” says Taylor. “We would like it to stand the test of time. We don’t see us doing this for a long time so we want to get it correct now.”