UK Presidency of the EU 2005 logo

On Friday, Britain’s EU Presidency Logo was unveiled!

Plans to ensure the UK’s presidency of the EU takes flight were revealed today in the form of an animated flock of swans logo.

The idea behind the logo is great! It is a metaphor for teamwork and leadership. There are 12 swans – the number of stars on the EU flag. The colours are also the same – blue and yellow.

It works for me. It’s a clever idea… except for a couple of minor details.

It’s regarding the current number of the EU countries, which the new logo doesn’t take into account. If you were Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Slovenian etc… you probably would feel a bit left behind by Britain’s EU Presidency. Maybe I’m taking it a bit too seriously, but it seems that Britain doesn’t care that much about Europe after all. Maybe the EU flag should have been updated first and made more welcoming for the new EU members.

“The UK is a dynamic and cutting-edge centre of design, producing some of the best talents in the world. Last year, the industry has a turnover of £3.9 billion and employed 70,000 people. Government has often been accused of preserving, rather than embracing the new. I believe that the innovative design ? produced by will highlight the best of UK design during our EU Presidency across Europe and the world.” ...Minister for Europe, Denis MacShane

Above is the Professional Conference Organizers in New Zealand logo, who’s website was featured on CSS Beauty in January. It’s based on a similar idea and I’m sure it’s only a coincidence.

Few more details about the logo,
The logo itself, which took three months from concept to reality, was relatively cheap to create at £10,000.
The total cost of the design is just over £30,000. This includes the development and production of the design and the integrity guidelines for its use.
Can mute swans make Britain’s EU presidency fly?

Credits,
Johnson Banks