Bellevue is changing its logo for the first time since 1969.

At the city council’s Nov. 25 extended study session, the council moved forward with the redesign.

“This is much bigger than just a shiny new logo to say we changed something… this logo is 50 years old,” Councilmember Jared Nieuwenhuis said. “The Bellevue of 1969 is not the Bellevue of today. It does not reflect who we are as a city, it does not reflect our diversity, it does not reflect our economic vitality and it does not reflect our vision statement.”

According to a management brief, discussions around the new logo started recently in response to Bellevue’s growth and increasing diversity. The logo’s redesign, which is seeking to be better representative of the city and support economic development interests, also works in conjunction with Bellevue’s 2018-2020 priority to establish a new brand identity that is reflective of the city’s past and future.

“It’s time,” Councilmember Jennifer Robertson said.

The council voted at the meeting to greenlight staff to start working on a request for proposal (RFP). An RFP is a document that an agency uses to explain the intention and scope of a project to a party they are seeking assistance from.

“The goal would be to launch the RFP process in the first quarter of 2020 for a consultant who will lead the city’s logo rebranding initiative,” a Nov. 25 management brief states.

Councilmember Conrad Lee was the only official at the meeting who opposed the motion. He said he was supportive of a new logo and the work that needs to happen to make it a reality. But he was concerned about the cost of the project — a range between $100,000 and $150,000 that covers the drafting and public engagement processes — and the lack of discussion surrounding it. According to Lee, a project of the logo’s cost should come with more conversation than the one had at the Nov. 25 meeting.

“We haven’t really had the details for substantive consideration and deliberation on this subject,” Lee said.

Development of the redesign will continue in the coming months.

According to an Aug. 30 memo shared with the council, the rebranding will be adopted after two to three rounds of design and public comment, with three final options eventually being offered to the council. Following the latter’s recommendation, the city will host an event to commemorate the logo’s redesign.

For an overview of the redesign, go online to the Aug. 30 research memo (https://bit.ly/2qVcIrv). For the full conversation about the logo, go online to the video recording of the Nov. 25 extended study session (https://bit.ly/2Rjs9US).