Danny’s Picture Plant Your latest issue of Downhome has an article on our provincial emblem the picture plant, where you question its merits, not the poor design of a flower that is as beautiful as any. The fact that its survival method from capturing nutrients rather than absorbing the same decaying nutrients from the soil as most plants. This perception is as bad as Paul Watson’s version of the seal hunt used to promote having the hunt stopped in perception but for financial gain in reality. Being a Newfoundlander who graduated with a degree in design from the Ontario College of Art in 1964 and a successful career as a graphic designer, marketing consultant and graphic design instructor, I consider my analysis is based on expertise and not personal opinion, likes or dislikes. In 1980, first there was premier Brian, who for personal recognition had the Union Jack redesigned by Christopher Pratt as a provincial flag with all efforts to please those who preferred the Union Jack. The result was a poor flag design, which has not improved over time. A bad concept, over designed, never creates good images. The principals of good flag design are not based on giving an explanation to justify the concept, but should be of simple shape and defined color in a design that communicates a concept at a great distance. As a seafaring province it should be recognizable upside down as a marine distress symbol before wireless communications. Thus, we were given our first provincial symbol of political design. Then came premier Danny and with it the emperor’s new robes. He called it a picture plant flower. As for me it is more like two spiral lollipop candy waving in the wind of poor design. Picture plant flowers don’t blow in the wind. Wherever they grow they stand straight and tall, firmly routed in the vegetation that supports them, a symbol of strength found in the Newfoundland environment. Then with a poor concept and bad design for the picture plant flower the logotype of Newfoundland and Labrador is even worse. The designer took a series of designed individual letterforms that a professional typographer designed so that when assembled into words that would effectively communicate with maximum legibility and readability. Now with broken letters and distorted letterforms the logotype suggest that we are a group of misfits that all struggle to confuse the reason for our collective existence, of excellent communications. The purpose of good design is to effectively present a standard of excellence. When Brian had the flag designed and Danny had his branding iron made, I created cartoons that no one would publish at the time. Maybe you can publish them with my comments. I designed a flag based on the picture plant 30 years ago, which was simple and distinctive but although presented to tourism at the time, no interest was expressed in any dialogue about a redesign of a standard provincial logo with logotype. Maybe this can be a focus to create dialogue for revising an effective symbol and logotype. If you would like to publish a viewpoint in the next issue, contact me and I will drop by your office for a discussion. Albert W. Taylor [email protected] See Attached   Submitted By: Albert Taylor