By Mimi Darley Dutton | [email protected]

The green tree and blue mountain background that’s been the city’s symbol for 20 years is being phased out. Draper has a colorful, new, multifaceted logo and an updated website as of February. 

Britnee Johnston became Draper’s Communications Director last April. “The idea for re-branding came about in early 2020. The mayor and city council saw a need for updating the logo and the website and creating a design style guide, something the city didn’t have before,” she said. “Because the city didn’t have that, there was a lack of consistency among departments and programs. A lot of them were using different logos. The council wanted a brand that created a better understanding of all the services and programs we provide. We wanted a more unified voice as a city.” 

Input was gathered from various groups and several iterations took place before the new logo was finally chosen. The city started with an analysis of surveys they’d conducted, including the general plan resident survey from 2019. They also analyzed input from key stakeholders such as business owners, council members and city employees. Research was done on other cities’ logos, both in Utah and nationwide, particularly those who’d updated their logo in the last two years. 

 “We have a huge economic opportunity headed our way with The Point. That also made it a great time to change our logo to market ourselves to these new businesses and residents coming to Draper, from a local to a national standpoint. I think all eyes will be on Draper in the next few years. We want to look the part of being home to this exciting project,” Johnston said. 

The city hopes the new logo will convey the experiences the city provides to work, live and play. “It’s one of the best managed cities in Utah. We have great schools and open space.  Visually it represents our gem which would be our open space in Corner Canyon. I think the variety of colors in our new logo shows the liveliness of Draper and that we’re an active community,” Johnston said. 

The new logo was created by Tooza Design, a husband and wife team of graphic designers based in South Jordan. “I think it represents that life is good in Draper,” Johnston said.

The city’s website has a new domain, draperutah.gov. Those who visit the old site (draper.ut.us) will be redirected to the new site for a period of time. The redesign set out to simplify site navigation coupled with a goal of making it more mobile-phone friendly. The site now features a new trails directory with interactive maps, more information and trail photos. It has a Covid-19 hub with Draper’s data and resources as well as a demographic dashboard in the economic development section. 

According to Johnston, prior to the pandemic, the city had budgeted $50,000 for the new logo and updated website. But Covid made city officials more cost-conscious. “We ended up spending $20,000 on both the rebranding and the website redesign. All the savings came from the website side by staying with the same provider,” Johnston said. 

The new logo will be seen more and more as the city makes the transition for all its departments. Updated letterhead, business cards and decals for city vehicles are happening in the next few months. “Down the line we’ll have to look at park signage. All of our physical assets will be a slow transition, but everything digital will transfer over pretty quickly,” Johnston said. Street signs will take the longest. Rather than replacing existing street signs, the city will wait for warmer weather to overlay a sticker decal with the new logo on them.