City opens call for artists to design new Hermosa Beach logo
The Hermosa Beach logo was developed by an unknown city staff member in the late 1960s. Image courtesy City of Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach is asking local artists for help in updating the city logo. The existing logo is an off-center “Hb” within an Impressionistic rendering of the Vetter Windmill on Pacific Coast Highway, usually accompanied by a pair of soaring seabirds. The logo was designed in the late 1960s by an unknown city staff member and is deployed by the city on occasions that don’t call for the formality of Hermosa’s city seal. Professional and amateur artists are asked to submit entries by July 20, and finalists will be presented for community comment at a public meeting.
Hermosa is in the midst of an attempt to get a handle on its brand ahead of efforts that will prominently feature the logo. The website is being redesigned and a slate of public works projects will feature the logo, including an update to the five-way crosswalk at the intersection of Pier and Hermosa avenues.
Hermosa Beach Mayor Jeff Duclos said that the changes to Hermosa’s “visual identity” have been under consideration for more than a decade. Duclos said discussions began to accelerate around 2011 with the establishment of a city subcommittee devoted to improvements on the PCH/Aviation corridor. He helped establish the committee, and part of its focus was the lack of a cohesive sense of place for the city’s biggest business district.
“The fact of the matter is we don’t stand out as a city the way we would like to when people drive through our main corridor,” Duclos said.
The work of the PCH/Aviation Committee, however, is unlikely to shape what the new logo looks like. At a study session on the subject earlier this year, Councilmember Justin Massey criticized the design work of a landscape architecture firm hired by the committee. Councilmembers instead seemed to favor only modest tweaks to the logo. They were especially excited by a slate of a dozen modest possible tweaks presented by local artist Daniel Inez, but wanted to open up the competition to the community because of what is expected to be widespread interest.
Submission information is available on the city website at hermosabeach.org/newlogo. The artist with the winning design will receive a prize of $1,000.