2013 brought us a new corporate structure behind the scenes to everyone’s favorite Labor Day weekend tradition in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. That change brought only a minor tweak to the convention itself. It was no longer Dragon*Con with the two words linked together by an asterisk, but now simply just Dragon Con. While some of the social media sites and other easier to change media reflected that change for 2013’s Dragon Con, you for the most part still had a vast majority of the items and media related to Dragon Con displaying the older version of the name with the most common place to see it wherever the classic “Dragon*Con” logo was displayed in all its glory.
Today, July 2, 2014, Dragon Con presented the geek world with a new logo for the event, the first in almost 20 years, after teasing an upcoming “unveiling” late last week. Here it is.
I must admit, I’m a bit partial to seeing rougher edges in my designs. I’m more barbarian than sci-fi you might say. But the new design has its merits. The design is simple yet striking, with a color pallet that presents well. The gold on blue with red highlights is a classic mixture of colors for such things while the Dragon Con crest itself appears more modern in its presentation. Despite being bold, it’s also a minimalist design that should translate well to black and white and as imprints on merchandise, something that the older logo didn’t always do quite as well as this one should. It also reflects the growth of the convention and the changes over the years.
“It was time to freshen up our logo, but it was important to maintain some continuity with the past,” said President Pat Henry. “The new logo honors our past, but also gives us something that represents Dragon Con’s present and future.”
The new design’s sleeker appearance certainly does that. The convention has grown much over its almost three decades of existence, and it has come to incorporate so many more aspects of fandom than it once did.
“We are not the same show that we were back in 1995. We have experienced tremendous growth, morphing from a small convention that catered to a few specific interests into one embraced by the mainstream culture that encompasses so many aspects of fandom,” Henry said. “As we continue to grow and evolve, we believe our logo should reflect that.”
It’ll take some getting used to just as any change often does, but this is an easy change to adapt to, and for the simplest of reasons. Despite the new bottle, the convention itself still has the same great taste it always had. To quote the announcement on their Facebook page,
“If there are any doubters out there, we want you to know that just because we have a new logo does not mean that there will be any change to the fun that is Dragon Con. We are the same show, with the same commitment to our fans that we have always had and will continue to have throughout time. Same cool round-the-clock programming, same great caliber of guests, same awesome parade (the biggest in Atlanta in fact), same Jedi’s and Starfleet fans taunting one another, same – well you get the picture.”
How do you feel about the new logo? Which do you prefer? Let us know in the comments here and/or on Facebook!
This post brought to you by Jerry Chandler.
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I’m very pleased with the direction the Dragon Con logo was taken. As many fond memories are attached to the old design, it is definitely a product of its time. The new logo is very pleasing to look at: clean lines, easy flow, very graphic, and presents a feel that does a good job of catering to the multiple demographics that the con represents (the blocky, energetic lettering of superhero comics, the modern, sleek feel of sci-fi, a metallic finish that evokes fantasy media). I frankly think they did an excellent job. (And, to be selfish for a moment, I would actually by merch with this graphic on it, whereas I was hesitant with the old logo since it was a touch… dated.)
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