(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Saving our state one logo at a time – Daily Montanan [1] ['More From Author', 'October', 'Darrell Ehrlick'] Date: 2022-10-06 I want to thank the Montana State Library Commission for … um … straightening out its logo. Our state crisis has come to an end. No, not COVID-19. Or housing. Or stagnant wages. Or healthcare. Or public education funding. After so much worry that a four-color prism might cause someone, somewhere to see the “Pride Rainbow” flag and think that an organization that stores Montana’s GIS information is secretly sending subliminal support to the LGBTQ community, we have come up with a new, only very slightly different, color scheme. As if supporting those who are marginalized was a bad thing. And never mind that rainbow-themed pride flag has six colors, not four. But on Tuesday, the new state library logo was unveiled, and it appears the colors were changed so slightly that effectively just the green was turned a shade or two lighter. Otherwise, you’d have to look at the graphic designer’s color palette to notice the changes. If you look carefully, you can detect slight variations the same way you can tell the difference between “Classic Victorian” and “Eggshell White” in a paint store. The library commission said instead of just relying on the colors of a basic prism, it instead borrowed the colors of the state flag – by my amateur count, there are roughly 10 different shades on that, all of them suspiciously similar to the original colors graphic designers chose to use in the state library commission’s logo. I didn’t think the debacle, which has topped more than $300,000 in design costs, could get more embarrassing, but Montana once again has outdone itself. This “redesign” is the equivalent of buying a dollar store Groucho Marx mask and slapping it on a logo, hoping it fools people. And even that’s assuming that the original logo would have caused anyone to hearken back to the Pride flag. And, even if such a preposterous situation would happen, that also assumes that someone looking at the logo would be offended to see a rainbow design, which now (thankfully) has become so ubiquitous. After all, isn’t a library of any sort supposed to include a wide variety of materials and opinions? I can’t imagine any good sort of library that wouldn’t anticipate that something, somewhere in its collection would likely rankle some of its patrons. That’s kind of the point — a diverse, uncensored collection. It may seem like a trivial thing to have such a flap over a logo for a state agency that few Montanans probably realize even existed. And, to be sure, it is a ridiculous fight. It’s the collateral damage I worry about most. Unless you’re McDonald’s or Nike, an organization’s logo is often something in the background. However, by elevating this logo, one of likely hundreds in the state’s arsenal, we haven’t shifted the conversation to focusing on elements of style and design, we’ve weaponized it against an entire group of people who are already marginalized. We have acted in an insensitive way. These concerns weren’t raised by an outraged public, they were the overheated hallucinations of board members who have been listening to too much claptrap about an alleged gay agenda or a liberal infiltration seeping down to the logo-level of state government. Here’s the danger: If we accept this kind of twisted logic – that even logos are being designed with subliminal political messaging – without any proof, then we will continue to be ruled by our fears and differences, rather than celebrating the growing diversity in our state. That diversity isn’t a new thing, either. It has, to a lesser degree, always existed in Montana, but forcefully suppressed. And for a moment, let’s accept the bizarre premise that the state library commission’s logo was designed as a sophisticated yet subtle nod to the LGBTQ community, then what? The history behind the pride flag was meant to emphasize that there is a broad spectrum of diversity in people, and that you need all different types to make a complete picture. All the colors are equal. All the colors are important. And, all the colors need to be included in order to have a complete spectrum. That doesn’t sound so unlike information and knowledge, which is at the heart of the mission of libraries throughout the state. You need a variety – the full spectrum in order to have understanding. Instead, this episode in our state’s history is a reminder of how deeply anti-LGBTQ sentiment still runs in this state, and how close to the surface it really is. Quite frankly, I want to believe that we’re bigger and better than this. I want to believe that the state recognizes the richness that comes with diversity. I yearn for a return to the live-and-let-live spirit that has attracted so many to this state. And I refuse to believe just because the dominant political ideology is conservative, that it’s code for bigoted. This whole talk of logos, color palettes and rainbows has been interesting, maybe even informative. Yet, it’s left us with nothing more than a black eye. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2022/10/06/saving-our-state-one-logo-at-a-time/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/