With a new logo and a new tagline, “Better by Nature,” the Wasatch County government is working to shape its message moving forward.
County manager Dustin Grabau said the new brand is already starting to appear on the Wasatch County website, documents and some facilities.
“We want to be really mindful about who we are, and the message that we’re sending out and giving the public confidence in the work the county does,” he said.
The new logo includes four “W”s arranged like a compass rose or a snowflake. Grabau said the compass reminds him that as the valley grows and changes, Wasatch County intends to chart its own course into the future.
The logo’s blue and green color scheme is meant to pay tribute to the county’s natural beauty.
“We want to appreciate both the geographic amazing features that we have out here – the natural features – but also the nature of this community,” Grabau said. “The nature of the people that live and move here is just exceptional.”
Not everyone fell in love with the new logo, however.
“To me, it felt like too much was trying to be accomplished in one attempt,” Councilmember Erik Rowland said. “This feels like the Neil Diamond of logos – either you hate it or you love it.”
Fellow Councilmember Luke Searle had a different reaction – he said rebranding is essential to Wasatch County’s future.
“Are we Summit County 2.0? Are we the larger part of Park City? I think we can resoundingly say no,” he said. “If we do not have something to attach ourselves with, that helps us remember the community that we have been, then we’re going to regret it.”
The new brand also includes a tagline, “Better by Nature.” Grabau said the phrase has layers of meaning.
“I think [it] captures what I feel is an aspiration, and also a declaration. There’s something special about this county,” he said. “But at the same time, we are constantly striving to be better... We are appealing to people’s better natures.”
Grabau said the rebranding process has made the county want to enhance other aspects of its services too. Next year’s budget includes adding a full-time public information officer.
“Through the branding process, we’ve really come to appreciate how much we could be doing with community outreach,” he said. “That’s the hope with that position.”
The county will continue to incorporate the new brand into its facilities and messaging to the public.
