Anarchist - Government Accountability Board Logo

Wisconsin has been having some trouble with logos lately.

There was the "Wisconsin - Live like you mean it" tourism and business destination logo, a totally unoriginal, $50,000 debacle.



Wisconsin has adopted another unoriginal logo, this time for the Government Accountability Board, the agency in charge of running elections.

This isn't the first time recently that the Government Accountability Board has screwed up when trying to come up with an appropriate image.

The Chicago Tribune reported in December 2008 that the board paid Bloomfield, Conn.-based PCC Technology Group about $1 million to develop a new website for campaign finance information in Wisconsin. This image was featured.



Very nice. Unfortunately, the backdrop for the Wisconsin Capitol is the Minneapolis skyline. Supposedly, PCC used the image as a placeholder while it searched for a copyright-free Wisconsin image to use. For $1 million, PCC should have created its own skyline backdrop.

That matter has been resolved. Wisconsin's Capitol no longer is planted in Minneapolis. (I'm afraid the first and false image was more attractive.)

Well, the Government Accountability Board has shown itself to be logo-challenged again.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

As the state agency charged with running elections, the Government Accountability Board can't show favor for Republicans or Democrats.

But is it biased toward anarchists?

The board recently launched a new logo - an A inside a circle - that looks similar to the traditional symbol for anarchy.

"It being an anarchy sign and the government - there's definitely irony there," said Madison's Ear Wax Record Shop owner Rob Cleveland, who is familiar with the anarchy symbol from following punk music for years.

"It's almost like the joke is on them," he said.

The board paid about $4,900 to have the logo designed by Madison-based Cricket Design Works, said Kevin Kennedy, the board's director. He said he first became aware of the similarity when a board employee mentioned it as they reviewed drafts of the design.

"I think there are significant differences" between the designs, Kennedy said.

The design firm didn't return a call.

The traditional anarchy symbol shows an A inside a circle, with the A's horizontal cross-hatch extending to the edge of the circle or beyond. The board's logo is similar, but softer and more refined looking.

The board administers elections, monitors campaign finance reports and investigates allegations of ethics violations. Kennedy said it's not entirely inappropriate to link its work to anarchy.

"Our role is to bring accountability to what could otherwise be anarchy," Kennedy said.

On the bright side, this logo only cost taxpayers about $4,900 to design. That's a dramatic improvement from the other big price tag logos.

But paying nearly $5,000 for a rip-off of the very familiar anarchist symbol is nuts.

The cost is the least of the problems with the new logo.

How could anyone OK a symbol so closely resembling the anarchist sign for a state agency responsible for "[administering] elections, [monitoring] campaign finance reports and [investigating] allegations of ethics violations"?

Crazy!

This is priceless:

The traditional anarchy symbol shows an A inside a circle, with the A's horizontal cross-hatch extending to the edge of the circle or beyond. The board's logo is similar, but softer and more refined looking.

"Softer and more refined"?

HAHAHAHA

Kennedy goes on to defend the rip-off logo:

Kennedy said it's not entirely inappropriate to link its work to anarchy.

"Our role is to bring accountability to what could otherwise be anarchy," Kennedy said.

What a joke! That is such a lame explanation. It's like using the image of polluted, over-developed land to be the logo for our state parks.

Actually, other than its unoriginality, I like the board's logo.

The anarchy symbol perfectly reflects the state of Wisconsin's elections and campaign financing and investigations into ethics violations.

I can't think of a better symbol. It is appropriate.

When it comes to Wisconsin's elections and accountability, anarchy is what the Democrats want to maintain. Gov. Doyle has been persistent in vetoing measures meant to eliminate disorder and fraud in Wisconsin's elections.

Yes, the rip-off logo is a very good choice, though there may be a copyright challenge.

Who owns the rights to the anarchist symbol?

That could be tough to determine.

I think the Government Accountability Board can rest easy on that count.