DC Government Agency Logos, Reviewed
Your fearless 730DC writers tackle the sleek and hideous of agency graphic design, So You Don’t Have To.
The DC Council is currently in its budget oversight season, where agencies come before the council to review their performance last year and the budgets for next year. In that spirit, the 730DC team got together to scrutinize how these local agencies present themselves to the world —and bring you a roundup of the best and worst of agency graphic design.
This may seem trivial and very silly (it’s definitely still silly!). But government has noble goals — housing, employment, human rights — and good design can inspire people to rally behind these goals. Well-crafted imagery can make government services seem more approachable to the public; bad design can push people away with obtuse or confusing messaging. As Roman Mars of 99 Percent Invisible says in his TED talk on city flags: “The marriage of good design and civic pride is something that we need in all places.”
Behind the list
A lot of DC agency logos are…pretty uneventful, and we excluded them from our review. These all have some variation of 1) a DC flag, and 2) the Neutra typeface that Mayor Bowser has recommended as the standard for all DC agencies. Something like this:
If it looks familiar, Neutra is the same typeface used by Shake Shack, James Bond: Quantum of Solace, and the title card of Girls on HBO. It’s an interesting choice, since the typeface is named after and inspired by an Austrian-American architect who’s more associated with Southern California modernism than anything to do with the District.
For all you design nerds out there, here’s the Mayor’s full 20-page visual style guide. The goal of standardizing the look of our agencies is reasonable, but so far hasn’t been totally effective. The agencies that have updated their image to conform to the guide often lose the uniqueness that hints at their mission. Some — like DDOT — are probably never going to change, and for good reason.
Plus, the next mayor could just come along and change these guidelines — they’ll probably want to, considering the subconscious association that has been built up between a single typeface and Muriel Bowser over 8 years — and then we’ll be starting all over again.
Then there are a whole lot of agencies, commissions, and small offices that haven’t bothered with the design guide— or any design rules at all, in some cases. So read on for the good, the bad, and the questionable.
Power ranking of DC agency logos
(We want to note that the comments below are independent from our views of these agencies, unless otherwise indicated. We’re commenting exclusively on the designs themselves. Agencies are in alphabetical order.)
Office of Administrative Hearings
David Meni (730DC editor): This is better than it has any right being, but that rope border makes it look like a cattle brand.
Colleen Shaffer (730DC editor): I like that it looks like a woven basket. Very into the font. The font is soothing. Circles are soothing. I’d like it embossed into the front cover of a paperback book that my grandfather once owned.
Hayden Higgins (730DC editor): The rope is old-timey, but the scales look ripped off The Noun Project.
Commission on Arts and Humanities
Lily Strelich (730DC editor): Ok are the stripes here…mountains? Are they supposed to be artistic paint squiggles? If so why are they clearly the same squiggle copy-pasted twice. I feel like the DC Commission on Arts & Humanities would have the budget for two unique paint squiggles. Where are these stars going? Are they receding into the distance, a symbol of the impermanence of any human artistic endeavor? Are they drunk? Either way 4/10 for confusing messaging.
Rachel Mulbry (730DC writer): I think the squiggles are actually redacting/blacking out an “overtly political” and “vulgar” work of art underneath. The stars are meant to distract you from the censorship.
HH: It’s black-and-white, so you know it’s highbrow.
Mayor’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs
DM: 9/10. I would take this logo out for expensive cocktails.
CS: Oh yeah, this feels like a tropical drink.
DM: Unless it’s like, design tokenism? I’m not sure.
LS: nope this says MYOPIA and i refuse to read it twice
HH: Apia, coincidentally, is the name of the capital city of Samoa.
Office of the Attorney General
LS: This should really be Trump getting decked by a beefy Karl Racine.
DM: I’m here for Wilson Building visibility, though. I don’t think *DC’s main government building* is on any of these other logos, which is surprising to me.
CS: It looks like the District is pulling an ‘Independence Day’ on the Wilson Building.
LS: The scales makes it look like DC has a Snideley Whiplash mustache.
Department of Behavioral Health
LS: I feel like the profile placement isn’t modeling healthy behavior. They look like they just had an argument and both said some things they regret.
DM: This is a very competent-looking one. On trend without being tacky. Even if they look like passive-aggressive Lego men.
CS: This is the one most likely to make you believe that there are in fact people in the walls watching you wherever you go.
HH: From the Goodwill x Panopticon collection.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
DM: Holy shit, dude.
LS: 10/10 for being a bossy bitch.
CS: +1 for being the most prescriptive and action-oriented so far.
LS: Okay but why is this logo negging me?
Amanda Swanson (730DC social media): Don’t tell me what to do, CFO.
DM: The black bars are a totally different resolution than the rest of it??? I feel faint.
TD: Wouldn’t it be ‘smarter’ to flip the bottom words so you can actually read them?
DM: Overall, Yikes/10 from me.
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
LS: Hatching on the background globe makes it look like this is the chief medical examiner of SSpAAaAAAAACE
Also hey, someone should put that fire out?
DM: Where’s the Fire & EMS Logo when you need it!?
CS: Does this look like a golf ball to anyone else?
Office of the Chief Technology Officer
DM: This is such a missed opportunity. You’re an office that deals with tech and your acronym is OCTO; your logo should *without a doubt* be a giant robot kraken swallowing the District in its tentacles.
(If you want to draw this and tweet it to @730_DC, we wouldn’t object)
CS: Instead this looks like the logo for Viagra competitor.
HS: If there hadn’t been exactly 8 dots I would have lost it.
Child and Family Services Agency
LS: Ok I don’t even know where to start with this one: these adult stick figures appear to be kissing (+1) while they cradle severed heads (-1) but also it’s a kind of punnet square for the shared genes of the adult stick figures (+1 for science?) but also like…the redhead stick figure still shares most of its genetic material with the bluehead stick figure (-1 for possible incest)
Tomás Deza (730DC writer): I just see eggs.
Child Support Services Division
DM: Excuse me, what
HH: They let the children design this logo. Well done. Children are the future.
DM: This has all the visual fidelity of that “You Tried” meme.
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
LS: A river of blood pours out of Northern Virginia and careens off the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.
CS: …The war has begun. We shall retake what was once ours. Arlington.
But also I like this logo. The letters look like the kinds of paper cutout letters we used in middle school. It’s comforting.
DM: Yeah, I’m okay with this one. Check mark actually indicates what DCRA (supposedly) does.
Contract Appeals Board
DM: Waldo is TOO CLOSE.
LS: And apparently Waldo is an NRA member.
CS: This is the most Republican one.
AD: Is this the first one of these to put periods in ‘D.C.’??? Very agitating b/c that was the easiest thing to remember from our 730 style guide.
Department of Corrections
DM: Oh no. It’s like the opening screen of a point-and-click adventure game from the 90s.
CS: Motorcycle vibes. BIG motorcycle vibes here.
Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
LS: Ah yes, the __minal justice coordinating ____il for the district of colum
CS: It looks like a college christian group logo.
DM: tfw your logo is made in Microsoft Word Art circa 2005.
Developmental Disabilities Council
DM: This looks like it’s supposed to be an animated gif on a GeoCities website.
LS: This gives me vertigo. It looks like they made a logo and then someone dropped it.
CS: I’m getting serious screensaver vibes.
Department of Employment Services
DM: This one is pretty slick. I like the ‘dc’ embedded in it, and the flag doesn’t feel tacked-on. The typeface reminds me of the extremely dank 1970s Congressional Budget Office logo, which is one of the best federal government logos.
Also, the negative spaces in the E and S look like spoons? Is that like, putting food on the table….with employment?
TD: Ah yes, reminds me of the Mexico ‘68 font. Best one so far.
DC Fire and EMS
CS: I hate the yellow. Hate it. It makes me feel like things are actively on fire. The “AND” is way too prominent in this. It’’s the department of “AND.”
LS: Also what is this shape?? is it meant to be shaped like a coffin?
DM: I don’t know, this one makes sense when you visualize it as an EMS patch, which is where you’ll see it. Though I will say it looks like the DC Flag in this one has had a little too much to drink.
Department of For-Hire Vehicles
DM: This is just a rip-off of the Tesla logo?
CS: It’s actually pretty cool and Star Trek-y for being such an unknown department.
RM: Looks like they’re ready to launch their own ride-share company.
TD: Missed the chance of turning the F into the DC flag with the stars on top.
DM: I’m actually shocked they had the restraint to not put the DC flag on this.
Department of General Services
CS: Perfect. It’s as generic as their name.
DM: It’s the ur-logo.
DC Health Link
DM: This bears all the markers of an office (DC’s ACA Marketplace) that has to actually market itself to the public. They probably hired someone for their visual identity rather than putting it together in Microsoft Office Publisher in 15 minutes. The blue is very good. Not too loud or too dark. It’s the color of scrubs.
LS: The thing with this one is the interlocking DC really does it for me, but the C is just slightly narrower and the fact that it’s aaaaalmost symmetrical makes me hate it.
CS: I enjoy that it looks like a slinky. And they are “linked” … GET IT
Health Benefit Exchange Authority
CS: Medical. Pharmaceuticals. Endometriosis.
DM: “Talk to your doctor about the benefits of HeBExA.”
The color choice here is also very Miami Beach Timeshare.
Department of Health Care Finance
CS: Why are we pegs for battleship?
LS: No you’re thinking of the Game of Life(TM)! /Investing in Your Health! But just the top half
DM: These are the colors of the Russian flag, wake up sheeple
Department of Housing and Community Development
AD (Anne Dolan, Scheduler): The full www. website link in the ‘d’ is very helpful!!!!!!
DM: No buildings? I’d think you would go for something like the NYC Housing Authority Logo. But no. Letters on a flag again.
HH: Really misses an opportunity for creative design, and has too much information crammed in here. Slogan, flag, website, name, abbreviation?
Office of Human Rights
LS: They will protect your right to be impaled by giant cabers tossed from warring political factions
DM: I ship the Office of Human Rights Stick Figure and the Health Benefit Exchange Stick Figure. They’d make a cute couple.
Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
DM: No Oxford Comma, 0/10.
How funny would it be if their official acronym was DI,SB though? Not that funny? Oh, okay.
LS: Is it a coincidence that the color blocking here matches up with the demographic breakdown of the District?
RM: ohhhhhhhhhhhh
CS: OOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH
Judicial Nomination Commission
DM: Drop Shadow = Immediate Fail.
CS: Gavel or croquet mallet?
TD: It’s Chapulin Colorado’s hammer!
DC Public Library
DM: It’s just….an ‘L’? I see this one so often that I could have sworn it was more involved than that. I love imagining a pitch meeting where a highly-paid design team unveils this.
LS: The urge to turn this L into the nose of a smiley face actually makes this logo way more engaging than it should be. But also like, really?? The library?? You’re not even gonna give us a cartoon book?????
DM: Maybe it’s purposely abstract so you project your own image onto it.
CS: The L is leaning forward into the future, just like the blessed, lefty, progressive, god-sent librarians we all enjoy every day I LOVE THE LIBRARY THEY CAN DO NO WRONG.
DC Lottery
DM: Their whole mission is to build a brand and entice people, and it shows.
I’m surprised this is the only one (besides MOAPIA) to seize on the cherry blossom imagery.
CS: Is it meant to look like a die? Are these snake eyes? Did I … win?
Department of Motor Vehicles
DM: This is bold. The letters have some meat on those bones and the flag looks like it’s about it hit me in the face.
KP (Kiki Pierce, Writer): I stared at this for 2 hours today GET IT AWAY FROM ME.
Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement
DM: ChOnK DisTrCT
LS: District of Chonk
CS: No, they’ve just taken back Arlington and Alexandria and added on Huntington for good measure. This is a manifesto. Read the signs, people.
Parks and Recreation
LS: This one honestly nails it. Also very into the rivers flowing from this leaf’s loins. 10/10 fertile af
DM: This would look really good on a taupe bucket hat, which is exactly what you want for a parks and rec department.
CS: Besides the library, this is my fave.
DM: If you think the Big Blue L is better than this masterpiece, you’re just wrong, I’m sorry.
Office of Partnerships and Grant Services
DM: THAT ‘S’ IS ONE HUNDRED PERCENT UPSIDE-DOWN.
CS: AHHHHHH!! You can’t unsee that. They were like “we ran out of money from our grant so we can’t fix it now ¯\_(ツ)_/¯”
LS: Someone didn’t check the “lock aspect ratio” box in whatever word doc this was created in
Office of Planning
CS: It’s a pretty bow.
DM: Yeah this one is very good. They took advantage of having all their letters be nice and round. Bonus points for making the quadrants geographically accurate. They really ***planned*** that out.
HH: Minimal. I dig.
Office of Police Complaints
DM: DC Flag bein’ real coy in this one. Like it’s taking a mirror selfie.
LS: “who, ME?! ;)”
RM: Yea this is both a subtle jab at Arlington/Alexandria for seceding from DC and a metaphor for MPD’s NEAR Act data collection.
DC Public Schools
DM: Interesting that this one of the few that uses the Capitol Dome. The way it’s shaded makes it look like one of those fancy molded butters you’d get at a hotel gala.
CS: “DCPS: We will shape your children’s minds like tiny molded butters.”
HH: I think they took this logo from a third-rate bank.
Department of Public Works
DM: Holy cow, this would look amazing on the back of a leather jacket.
LS: I LOVE THIS. THE SERIFS! THE SWOOSHES! THE SHAMELESS BRAG!
RM: They’re also the only ones that need to sell themselves with a slogan in quotes, which inevitably makes me ask — who’s the author of that quote?
DM: Seriously, this one is so rad. Hey DPW, I would totally buy a shirt or patch from you. Please take my money.
Department of Small and Local Business Development
LS: This one looks…pokey.
AD: They’re waiting for a business to develop something to go in that open space between the stars and stripes.
Office of Tax and Revenue
CS: It looks as imposing as tax time feels. Like the O is a big mean bully standing right behind the district.
HH: This looks like it came from Hillary’s graphic designer.
DM: Captains Log, Day 78: The District has been adrift for what feels like ages. We’re taking on water in Georgetown. Hopefully we will meet our sister, Puerto Rico, somewhere out there on the empty seas.
Office of the Tenant Advocate
CS: But if the people are first…why are they behind the logo? I ask you that.
DM: ‘Image Options > Send to Front’
LS: I, for one, welcome our new Office of Nant Advocate
Department of Transportation
DM: Iconic. Honestly, I really want some hefty slab serifs here, but this gets the most points for distinctiveness. This is probably the only one in this list that would make some people mad if you changed it. 9.5/10.
RM: And you get to feel clever when you figure it out.
CS: So so clever.
DM: I’m honestly surprised no other Department of Transportation has copied this. It even fits on a bike rack!
DC Youth Advisory Council
DM: RADICALLLL
LS: YARF THOSE STARS N STRIPES KIDS
CS: This feels like it was made in the 90s with a very specific idea of “the youth.”
Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services
DM: Why is the only option for anything to do with children ‘shoddily drawn stick figures?’
LS: It’s actually the Department of Waterski Human Pyramids.
DC Office of Zoning
TD: Department of Minesweeper?
DM: For an agency whose whole job is to put together complex maps, this is maybe the worst map in any of these logos.
HH: Tonight we march on Gravelly Point, apparently.
CS: LOL womp womp.
DM: Then it just goes “Ah dangit, we gotta fit the DC flag in there somewhere. And make ’em look like Kit-Kat bars.”
HH: Tasty. Did you know Kit-Kats contain Kit-Kats? They’re the official candy bar of infinite regression!
Do you think you could do a better job with one of these logos? Tweet your design at us (@730_DC) and we’ll see if we can convince someone to actually adopt it.
