25 Oct 2010

Our New Look

You may have noticed that we debuted a fancy new logo today. We’d like to thank Scott and Amy Herbert from Aesthetic Answers for all their hard work!

The collaborative process took several months. We wanted to get the feel of the design just right. We wanted out from under the shadow of the Capitol dome, and to honor the tradition and history of our neighborhood. In the end, we think the Aesthetic Answers team nailed it.

You’ve also probably noticed that we’ve got some ads on the site now. We’ve partnered with HillAds, a hyperlocal ad network to bring you ads that are actually relevant to our readers. The revenue goes to keeping things up and running around here, and maybe to buy a beer or two for our writers, since this remains a labor of love for us all. Our writers generously give up hours of their time each week to keep us informed and entertained, so if we can buy them a drink from time to time for their efforts – it’s the least we can do.

So, let us know what you think. We’d love to hear your thoughts!


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5 responses to “Our New Look”

  1. Mark says:

    I think you are doing a great job. I’ve followed this blog from its early days and it is definitely becoming a go-to resource for the Hill.

  2. I like it a lot. You all do such a fantastic job of keeping the Hill informed and now you are doing it with even more style.

  3. Jay says:

    I love the blog, and read it far to frequently. I read every comment, even on topics that have no interest to me. Several writers know this about me. I hate to say this, but I don’t get the logo.
    How does it “honor the tradition and history of our neighborhood”?
    You can stretch and call the blue brick maybe “federal blue”, and the gold brick? Maybe it relates to parking, rare and hard to find.
    I also don’t get why you want “out from under the shadow of the capitol dome”. It’s what names and anchors our neighborhood. We live and work on Capitol Hill, not Chapel Hill, San Juan Hill or Beacon Hill.
    Just an honest opinion!

    • Sharee Lawler Sharee Lawler says:

      Thanks for being a frequent reader, Jay!

      When we approached the logo design process, we wanted to have something that acknowledged the variety across the Hill — from H Street to the Capitol Riverfront and RFK to Union Station. I think we accomplished that with the combination of fonts in both bold and traditional aspects.

      The dome is certainly a defining element of our neighborhood, but when you and I say “the Hill”, it usually means something very different than when the non-local says it or when it appears in the newspaper. That’s why we liked the nod to our brick sidewalks, where so much social interaction takes place, and the bright colors, side-by-side like row houses, that remind us of the streets we stroll down everyday.

      Designing a logo is a very subjective process, and I will see something different than others see. Aesthetic Answers gave us lots of great options and, as neighborhood locals too, did a great job taking our abstract concepts and translating them into a concrete vision. In the end, we needed to choose something that would represent our brand and we felt this was the best way to go.

      We appreciate your feedback and will keep it in mind as we continue to update the site and improve the user experience.

  4. Liz says:

    I was just looking at a DCPS status update and saw its logo–DC schools –is also the Capitol dome, unless that is a white acorn depicted there. Sure, the offices are nearby, and but what’s that go to do with the schools here other than federal education laws that apply to students in each state? The Capitol dome is a grand, immoveable white marble (I think) structure, recognized as a symbol throughout the world for the U.S.’s lawmaking body. This is a neighborhood blog. Capitol Hill, (yes we get it that it is hard to get away from) is a vibrant neighborhood built brick by brick, with an eclectic, dynamic population. I think the new logo captures this–maybe it will grow on you!

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