New logo isn't an artistic competition - EC Chair
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Charlotte Osei has said the design and selection of a new logo for the EC was not an artistic competition meant to impress.
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According to her, the designing of the logo was not opened up for invitations but is the result of an internal consultation.
“We engaged internally, we made enquiries and we selected as a Commission and that’s why I said we selected it and we like it,” Mrs Osei said at the launch of the EC’s five-year strategic plan in Accra.
The new EC logo and website featured prominently at the event.
“We did not open up invitations for people to send logos in because the logo has to represent where we are going to as a brand and as an institution. So it’s not just about putting colours together… We also worked very closely with other ECs, we looked at their strategic plans, we exchanged information….it’s a process, a logo is not just an artistic competition.”
“So we looked at it, we liked it and we are comfortable as a commission that it represents the values and the brand we want and the image we want to portray and it supports our strategic direction,” she said.
Plagiarised EC logo?
The new logo which appeared on some EC educational materials prior to its launching had generated a lot of public debate, with some suggesting that the logo belonged to a Turkish educational institution, Yedi Sistem.
But responding to those claims, Mrs Osei noted that the EC had not plagiarised the logo.
“We don’t feel we’ve plagiarised their logo and if you look internationally there are many logos that look alike. I don’t think it looks like mine and I like mine better,” she said.
“We’ve plagiarised their logo? Then they certainly have rights under the law,” Mrs Osei added.
Listen to the Mrs Charlotte Osei explain the reason behind the new logo
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Cost of rebranding
According to Mrs Osei, she was not immediately in the position to disclose the total cost of the ongoing internal reform processes within the EC.
She said although a lot of the reform processes were being funded by donor support, she did not know how much had been spent so far.
“Honestly I don’t know…I would have to check with my director of finance and get back. It is ongoing and it’s not even finished. We haven’t gone through signage; we haven’t branded our vehicles…I can’t say how much we’ve spent so far [but] we are working within a budget,” she said.
