Harrow residents will now be greeted with a fresh and revitalised appearance of Harrow Council as they introduce their official new logo and revert to their original legal name.
The unveiling of the new branding and logo aims to reignite pride in the borough, as declared by the council. Starting today (6 June, 2023), residents can catch the first glimpse of the new look on the council’s website, www.harrow.gov.uk, as well as on social media and digital platforms.
The rebranding process, which will not involve a complete replacement but rather a replenishment of the old Harrow Council look in order to save costs, is expected to cost less than £500.
This cost-effective approach was made possible by the winning design of a local student, Kareena Ravaliya. The competition, held in collaboration with Harrow College and the University of Westminster campus, produced a logo that resonated with the essence of Harrow.
The newly introduced branding incorporates an updated version of the civic coat of arms, carefully rejuvenated to reflect the borough’s rich diversity in the 21st century while acknowledging its proud heritage. Additionally, the council has decided to revert to its legal name, London Borough of Harrow instead of ‘Harrow Council’.
Kareena Ravaliya, a former University of Westminster student who has since become a freelance graphic designer, has been actively involved in the branding process. She witnessed her initial concepts come to life in collaboration with the council’s digital and communications teams.
To ensure a smooth transition, the London Borough of Harrow will embark on a gradual program of replenishing its physical assets, including buildings, vehicles, uniforms, and street furniture. As a result, the familiar, and now former, lozenge-shaped council logo will continue to be seen around the borough for several years. By implementing the rebrand internally and adopting a phased approach, the council aims to keep costs to a minimum, with less than £500 spent on the entire rebranding effort thus far.
Councillor Stephen Greek, Portfolio Holder for Performance, Communications and Customer Experience, said: “This is a great example of how we believe in investing in local talent by giving our local colleges and university the opportunity to be part of making history. The logo is now authentic to us representing our past, present and future with a contemporary feel to it. We now have a logo that we can rightly say has been Made in Harrow that we can all be proud of.”
Councillor Paul Osborn, Leader of the London Borough of Harrow, said: “Restoring pride has been at the heart of our new branding for the London Borough of Harrow – and we’ve done this at a minimal cost spending under £500. Over the coming months and years, we will continue to keep costs down by only updating assets with the new logo when they need to be replaced.
“The logo captures the past, present and future of our borough and has been designed to work well in both digital and physical forms.”
The first glimpse of the new look London Borough of Harrow
Our new branding incorporates an updated version of the civic coat of arms, which reflects Harrow’s rich and diverse place in the 21st century, while acknowledging our rich heritage.
Read more: https://t.co/HepWBxPuI4 pic.twitter.com/gU2wo6TQ5V
— London Borough of Harrow (@harrow_council) June 6, 2023
Kareena said: “It’s been fantastic to work on this project and I’ve really enjoyed working with the team at Harrow to see it grow from my initial design to fully fledged branding which will be around for years and years to come. Not many design students can say they’ve played a key part in such a prestigious project and I’m glad it’s pride of place in my portfolio.”
