We are excited to reveal the City’s new brand! The Governing Body approved the design at the February 27, 2023, Council meeting. The City partnered with Crux and spent nearly one year getting community feedback in person, in writing, at community events, at branding pop-ups, through surveys and more. Staff and Crux teamed up to make sure all that community feedback drove this new design.
The brand reflects many things that kept popping up when we talked to our community. The sun is a nod to our history as it reflects a similar sun you see in our historic City seal. The rolling green hills are included because so many of you talked about loving our parks and green spaces in Shawnee. You’ll notice they roll up towards the sun and to the right, showing our City’s movement and growth forward. We included when Shawnee was established, in 1856, because people told us we need to know where we came from so we can move the City forward in a smart, responsible way. We even spent hours and hours on the font. The upwards flair of the letters in “Shawnee” again indicate our community’s growth and path forward. If you look closely, the outside lines of the brand even form an “S” that showcases the entire design.
The tagline, “Hometown With Heart”, comes directly from our community. Time after time, the words “Hometown” and “Heart” come up when talking to residents, business folks, staff and others about what Shawnee means to them. We feel “Hometown With Heart” truly captures what Shawnee feels like to so many of us. Whether you were born and raised here or have made it your hometown by choice, people care in this community. They do things with purpose, with heart, every single day. “Hometown With Heart” is a direct reflection of our community. It is dedicated to you.
What does this mean now that Shawnee has a new brand? Well, for one, you’ll start seeing it in more places soon. We are taking a strategic approach to rolling it out and will be replacing the old logo with the new one as City vehicles are replaced, business cards need replenishing and things like that. You’ll see a quicker change where we can do it for free or very affordable, like social media, presentations, letterheads, shirts and more. We appreciate all of you who took time to weigh in throughout the branding process and hope you are as proud of “Hometown With Heart” as we are!