Arlington Heights trustees reject 'so rigid' new village logo, keep old horse head design for now

Though Arlington Park is closed, the Arlington Heights village horse head logo isn't being put out to pasture quite yet.

Village trustees Monday rejected a consultant's design for a new logo - an angled letter "A" stacked on top of the letter "H" in burgundy and blue - which brings at least part of a village rebranding effort that started in 2019 back to the starting line.

The board, however, did give a favorable nod to a new tagline - "Take it to the Heights!" - that would replace the "Discover Arlington" messaging that's been a part of advertisements touting the village downtown for two decades.

Village officials have been considering rebranding initiative even before the racetrack closed. The current logo, featuring a horse's head in the shape of the letter A, has been in place since 1959.

Board members said at their committee of the whole meeting Monday night the logo proposed by Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy wasn't the right one.

"The (new) image we're left with is not one that inspires me to want to come to Arlington Heights," said Trustee Mary Beth Canty. "This doesn't feel like the right fit to me. It feels a little bit stiff. A little bit stodgy."

Added Trustee Tom Schwingbeck: "Our old logo kind of popped. When I look at this, it just doesn't pop out at me."

Others on the elected panel weren't outright opposed to what Springboard presented, but their reactions were tepid.

Trustee Jim Tinaglia initially said he'd be willing to give the logo a try, while praising consultants Rob Rosenberg and Mike Chapman for being equally analytical and creative in their process. But ultimately, Tinaglia said what they presented was too "institutional," comparing it to a bank's logo.

"This logo is so rigid, so machine, so hard, and I don't want to feel like what we have is so corporate," he said.

Mayor Tom Hayes said he was sold on the logo - calling it reflective of "who we were, who we are and where we are going" - but didn't entertain a vote after the discussion and feedback from trustees.

The Arlington Heights-based marketing firm, which was retained in February 2020 as part of a $35,000 contract, conducted five focus groups in 2021 that included village officials, business owners, residents and educators. The consultants said many logos and taglines were tested internally with the village staff, but two finalists emerged. Two focus groups - a group of nine residents and a group of seven business owners - reviewed those choices on Nov. 15 and picked the same one, which was presented to the board Monday night.

Trustee Robin LaBedz said the size of those recent focus groups was concerning.

"It makes me a little nervous," she said. "This (logo) would not be appropriate to me on a flag."

Village Manager Randy Recklaus said his staff would take the board's comments and work with the consultants again, but he acknowledged the process is subjective and "something that can't be solved with a math equation."

"I don't think it's realistic we will find a logo that says everything that all nine of you want to say individually," he said. "But the logo is one tool in our overall identity toolbox."