The City of Florence unveiled new branding—see what locals are saying

The City of Florence caused a stir last night when it debuted its new logo and branding on Facebook.

New branding for an old city

The new logo makes use of a common nickname for Florence, “Flo,” and is intended to “encapsulate the essence of Florence” in a “simple, fun and attractive” way. The “l” and “o” are arranged in the shape of an exclamation mark, so the logo simply reads, “F!”

A video released on the city’s Facebook page explains that the new logo and tagline, “Live for more,” is a celebration of the “vibrant people, places, and experiences that make this such a beautiful, special place.”

The local reaction

Many locals are unimpressed by the city’s decision to “[put] the ‘F!’ in Florence,” as evidenced by the thousands of Facebook comments the posts have garnered.

Dissatisfaction ran the gamut from love for the “old” logo to frustration at the (alleged) $25,000 price tag on the new branding package. That’s not to mention another obvious concern: It appears that the city is withholding an expletive rather than promoting vibrancy, fun and excitement.

Probably the exact response from some people as they walk out into the cold this morning… “F!”

Brandon Spinner WAFF 48 Meteorologist on Facebook

Next steps

As of time of writing, the city had changed its Facebook profile photo to an illustration of a blue fleur-de-lis on a white background, an updated version of Florence’s previous fleur-de-lis logo that also appears to be part of the new brand package.

A change.org petition has already racked up almost 3,400 signatures in support of scrapping the new branding altogether.

What do you think about Florence’s new image? Is the issue resistance to change, a questionable graphic design choice, or some combination of those things? Let us know your thoughts.