The only difference is the 60,000 Euro fee

On 4 January 2008 De Volkskrant reported that the new logo of the Dutch National Government is similar to the coat of arms in the logo of the Ministry of General Affairs, the ministry of Prime Minister Balkenende. There are also other similarities: both logos were designed by Studio Dumbar, that got paid twice as well.

Balkenende announced the new identity for all ministries and other government agencies such as the Tax and Customs Administration on 21 December 2007. A sober stylization of the national coat of arms with the well-known lions should replace all current identities. Studio Dumbar's design was chosen from the work of five design agencies (Total Identity, Eden, Studio Dumbar, Thonik and Koeweiden Postma).

Tom Dorresteijn at Studio Dumbar recognizes that the logo is similar to the one his agency designed for the Ministry of General Affairs in 2000. He sees the quest for a new logo as the journey home to Ithaca by Odysseus: “Everything was investigated: new images, colours and perspectives, to finally come home to the familiar coat of arms. We discovered that we should not change that design.” (Christian Democrat Balkenende will probably recognize himself more in the words of the Preacher that there is no new thing under the sun.)

Dorrestein finds it logical that his agency was paid 60,000 Euros for its quest. “Looking back you could say that the quest was superfluous, but there is no way to know in advance.” A spokesman of the Prime Minister shares this opinion: “This was European tender. You can never know the outcome of such a project.”

Also on 4 January 2008 De Volkskrant published a letter to the Editor, titled “The National Government buys an ugly second-hand logo”. Nikki Gonnissen and Thomas Widdershoven from Thonik argue that the logo is a lost opportunity for a country with a strong tradition in graphic design. “The Dutch citizen is screwed twice by this logo”, for two reasons: it is similar to the logo of the Ministry of General Affairs, and from all ministerial logos it is the most inconspicious and most unimportant one. To illustrate this Gonnissen and Widdershoven indicate that Studio Dumbar does not even show the original version of the logo on its website.

Hans Stol, 04. Jan. 08