The Plainfield Park District recently debuted a new logo and a brand-new website.
The new Web address — www.plfdparks.org — has already replaced the old website, although for the next couple of years, visitors who go to www.plainfieldparkdistrict.com will be redirected to the new site, according to Corinne Vargas, senior designer/graphic artist for the district's parks, planning and marketing office.
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According to Vargas, the park district spent about $8,000 on the new website. She said the project began under previous Executive Director Greg Bott last winter. Bott retired in May and has been replaced with Plainfield village trustee Garrett Peck.
Why the change?
"Our need was to create a site that could be navigated easier and featured all relevant and updated information," park district spokesman Doug Booth said in a press release posted on Patch. The previous website was used for seven years, according to the release.
"We found the old address represented the Park District as a business and not a non-for-profit organization hence the change to an .org address," Booth added. "We also wanted to begin the process of shortening our web domain name and eventually our email addresses, which is still in the beginning stages of being updated."
The rollout of the new logo won't happen as quickly as the website.
"The park district's goal is to have the new branding featured by Jan. 1, 2014, but it will be a slow rollout," Vargas said. The logo already appears on the park district website, Facebook and Twitter pages and internal documents, such as board meeting packets, Vargas said.
Vargas said she designed the logo with input from other park district staff. She estimated the in-house design saved the park district $35,000 to $50,000. "That's based on previous projects I had done for other companies," she said.
As for how much the new logo design will ultimately cost the district, Vargas said she didn't have an estimate.
She said park district officials are considering several options for updating signage at parks and park district facilities with the new logo.
Vargas estimated the most cost-effective option would be to have maintenance staff remove the old logo and replace it with a plate containing the new logo. Other options are replacing the signs altogether — which would be the most costly option — or putting placards over the old logo.
"I don't really have cost estimates," Vargas said when asked how much each option would cost the district. According to park district documents, the cost for changing out or modifying signs will be part of the 2014-15 budget and staff "will need to have further discussions with maintenance department and upper management on appropriate timeline on when and how signs should be updated."
The cost of updating the logo on park district vehicles will also be part of the 2014-15 budget and has yet to be reviewed by the board.
According to the memo, the rollout schedule called for park district staff to order new shirts — T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts or polos — with the new logo by September. The park district would foot the bill for one or two shirts per employee. Patches would be available for employees who want to simply cover up the old logo on their clothing, the memo said.
By Jan. 1, 2014, park district staff will be advised they can no longer wear clothing bearing the old logo, with the exception of "throw-back Fridays." Another possible exception would be allowing Great Adventures preschool students and staff to wear the old logos until the end of the school year, according to the memo.
Vargas said most park district printed materials are done in-house, and the new logo will be added to smaller tri-folds this winter when those materials are updated. "I will be replacing the old information (including the logo) with new information, therefore no additional costs were allocated," Vargas said.
The new website and logo will also be added to the next park district brochure, she said.
What do you think of the park district's new look?
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