After a long process involving many parties, Yogyakarta finally has
its new logo and citizen branding 'Jogja Istimewa' (Special Jogja),
replacing the old logo and branding of "Jogja Never Ending Asia".
"Jogja
Istimewa" is from the people's participation and is considered suitable
to represent the new spirit of Yogyakarta," Yogyakarta Governor Sri
Sultan Hamengkubuwono X said during the soft launching ceremony for the
logo in Kepatihan on Thursday.
Hamengkubuwono
also expressed hope that the new logo and tagline could become the soul
of the people of Yogyakarta in the future.
Earlier, the logo was intended to be "Jogja, Living With Harmony".
This was, however, protested by many communities, including on social media.
The design, according to the protesters, was unclear and the word Jogja was read as Togua.
The tagline "Living With Harmony", similarly, was considered as not representing the condition of the people of Yogyakarta.
The
"Togua" logo and its tagline were designed by the president of the
World Marketing Association (WMA), Hermawan Kertajaya, and his team from
Markplus Inc., the same team that designed the previous logo.
The
province's special funds covered the design cost and launch of the
logo, which reportedly amounted to Rp 1.5 billion (US$124,120). Special
funds are provided by the central government to provinces with special
status.
Hermawan once claimed that the
contentious debate about the logo could be construed as positive based
on marketing theory, as successful branding indeed incited questions,
tribunnews.com reported.
In response to the
criticism, an 11-member team chaired by former Yogyakarta Mayor Herry
Zudianto was set up to find a new logo and tagline considered more
appropriate for Yogyakarta's people.
In just three months, the team received over 2,000 suggestions and "Jogja Istimewa" was finally chosen.
A
member of the team, Muhammad Marzuki from the hip-hop group Kill The
DJ, said the word istimewa, which literally means special, was chosen
because it was considered different and unique.
"Istimewa has no equivalent in English. The word could also mean special for all the people,"
Marzuki said.
He expressed hope that "Jogja Istimewa" could become a legacy for future generations.
"The
new logo and tagline are scheduled for a grand launch in March 2015 at
an event called 'Jogja Gumregah' movement," said Marzuki, adding that
Jogja Gumregah was a cultural movement that came from the people.
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"Jogja Istimewa" is from the people's participation and is considered suitable to represent the new spirit of Yogyakarta."
JakartaPost.Com