The company behind the Town of Erin’s brand refresh said any similarity the logo has to others is simply a coincidence.
Erin unveiled its brand refresh Friday morning, which consisted of a new logo of three leaves creating a heart in the middle, mainly with green colours and “Erin” in a serif font.
“A key element of the new logo is the subtle, yet meaningful, representation of the amalgamation of Erin and Hillsburgh,” a news release said. “The overlapping elements in the brand create a ‘hidden’ heart at its core, signifying the unity and strength of our community as we move forward together.”
This rebranding and logo design cost $20,000, the release said, and was done by Toronto-based branding agency Trajectory Brands, which has done work for clients such as Brock University, the CN Tower and World Heritage in Canada.
Chris Vernon, Town of Erin spokesperson, said via email the logo is proprietary and underwent several revisions. The scope of Trajectory’s work was limited to creating the watermark and style guide for use, he said.
Locals took to social media and some began to post examples of similar logos from a variety of companies around the world including a European baby products company, an Indian investment firm and an Austrian florist.
A petition to restore the town’s traditional shamrock logo began circulating online just hours after the rebrand was announced, with some airing their grievances about the logo.
“Much prefer the original shamrock. The cost incurred was a total waste of tax dollars and obviously not very original after a Google search by many,” Laurie Moulton wrote on the petition.
“Although they say there was a consultation process, who was actually consulted? Most of us heard nothing until it (sic) after it seems to have been put into effect. As well as the costs of this design going to an outside Erin firm that used a stock image rather than an original design based on our shamrock,” Jean Turner wrote on the petition.
“I am not opposed to an update of the original image, but there should have been public input and a stock image should not have been used. There are talented people living in Erin that could have assisted,” Adrian Piccolo wrote.
Trajectory’s Stephen Weir, who was the lead on Erin’s logo redesign project, said the logo’s similarity to others would be a coincidence.
“Our design brief (in part) was to explore updates and evolutions to the current identity, while ensuring differentiation from other cities and townships nearby,” Weir said in an email.
“Given that we were updating a three-leafed shamrock, we are not completely surprised there are other brands using a similar symbol that incorporates three leaves and several shades of green.”
He added there doesn’t appear to be any legal conflict for the town and, based on the examples he was shown, wouldn’t preclude the town from registering a legal trademark.
Weir said Trajectory first engaged in this project in June 2024 and the process consisted of a market scan of nearby townships, development of a creative brief, design exploration, refinement and finalization, all of which was guided by town council and a steering committee including “members with deep branding and marketing experience.”
The Town of Erin put out a press release on Sept. 4, nine days prior to Friday’s reveal, that it would begin its branding exercise and invited residents to share their thoughts.
The new brand is expected to be displayed on a new water tower in the Erin Glen residential development, according to a press release, and town staff are working on a roll out strategy for the new brand that will be implemented in phases.
Mayor Michael Dehn and councillors Cathy Aylard, Bridget Ryan and Jamie Cheyne did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Councillor John Brennan deferred a media request to town staff.
