Over the next few months, things are going to start looking a little different for the trucks, signs and uniforms of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.
Tuesday morning, a new "family" of logos, designed by Blakeslee Group of Park City, was unveiled.
A change was in order, said department spokesman Jason Curry, to improve recognition of DNR employees by the public because the old logo was just that — old.
When the logo the DNR has been using was introduced in the early 70s, the department anticipated it would last 10 years. More than thirty years later, the old logo, a six-sided graphic that looks like a more complicated version of the symbol for recycling, was still in use.
The department jokes that people would ask them why they had a roto-tiller for a logo. And each of the seven divisions within the DNR had their own logo, with no unifying look.
The new logo uses the shape of the state, with a mountain ridgeline within the state. Each division has a different icon — a tent for the Division of State Parks, an evergreen tree for the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, a pump for the Division of Water Resources — within the shape of the state. Each division's logo is also a different color.
"We like to say there is one logo, and it's customized for each division," Curry said.
The DNR wanted the new logos to clearly represent the state of Utah while being easily identifiable and understandable. Employees, especially those within the wildlife and state parks divisions, interact with the public frequently but often are mistaken for county sheriff employees. Curry said this is a problem because the mission of the DNR is broader than just law enforcement.
"We have a duty to the public to be educators and stewards of natural resources," he said.
To fulfill this duty, DNR employees need to have a friendly image.
The new logos will begin appearing on freeway signs marking camping, boating and fishing locations immediately. Within the next few months, they will begin appearing on DNR uniforms and vehicles. It is a process that will take years, Curry said, because the DNR isn't going to just scrap all the vehicles and uniforms bearing the old logo. Uniforms and vehicles will be replaced as they wear out.
E-mail: dmaxfield@desnews.com