The new Los Angeles city logo is a retro delight

The vibrant city of Los Angeles has a brand new logo for the first time in a decade, and the design is a neon splash of technicolour that wouldn't be out of place on an '80s Saturday night TV show. In other words, we can't help but love it. You'll need your sunglasses on for this one.

The new design couldn't be more different from the previous iteration (see below), which was mega-bland in comparison (though we do love that script). We bet the new design will go down a storm with tourists, and provide some very distinctive logo design inspiration, too.

LA's new logo was designed by Shepard Fairey and House Industries, in a collaboration that one (genius) Instagram commenter decided was created by "Zack Morris using Microsoft Paint". And the world was definitely waiting for that, even if it didn't know it. 

House Industries announced the project with the below post, which also explains some of the process and that the two design houses collaborated after realising they were bidding against each other for the commission. Now that's what we call a happy ending.

Coinciding with an ad campaign (which features the tagline "Your Comeback Starts Here" (see the ad below), the design is undeniably eye-catching and energising. According to Fairey, who spoke to Fast Company, it was inspired by classic art deco, handpainted signage and scripts from Mexican restaurants. 

The project aimed to create a unified identity for an extremely diverse city, which has different meanings for the broad range of people living there. Sure, the use of a sunset is slightly on the nose for Los Angeles, but it is exactly what you want from a Californian destination – and the neon script reflects the buzz and energy emanating from the different parts of the city.

It's certainly more exciting than many of the flat design offerings of late, especially the new ABC logo, which sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. LA is coming out of the pandemic with a bang, and we'd love to visit (and buy the T-shirt).

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