The City of Stonnington is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. (Wikipedia)

Stonnington has updated its logo, initially designed in 1994 when it was formed. They’ve kept the central elements, as brush like S and a circle, but reframed it with a blue and gold design and replacing the serif typeface on “City of” with a matching sans serif. By the looks of things they’re condensed variations of Helvetica.

The old logo has a definite casino chip feel that I don’t find especially useful for a municipality so any move away feels useful, but the update doesn’t feel especially fresh. The single sans option feels more modern, but STONNINGTON feels like it’s going to drop off either end.

The new roundel feels outdated, the simple gradients look like they from a 99designs competition.

Tweaking a logo as time passes is a great way to keep a brand feeling fresh, but for Stonnington, jumping from the casino chip to a 90’s gradient isn’t refreshing enough.

STONNINGTON Council has thrown out the logo that has served as a symbol of the municipality since it was created in 1994, in favour of a “refreshed” new look.

Source: Spot the difference in new logo