Think government agencies don't need a good logo? Think again. Governments have always had symbols (Flags, state seals, etc. etc.), and those symbols can have a profound influence on how they are perceived by the citizenry. In the case of Colorado's Division of Minerals & Geology, they wanted to update their image by using a clear, easy to understand logo to differentiate themselves from their parent organization, the Department of Natural Resources.

Notchcode interviewed Division personnel to understand what they do, what constituencies they serve, and what those constituencies need and expect from them. Not only did the Division have a wide variety of stake holders both inside and outside the organization, but from a practical standpoint, the logo had to be very simple and easy to read when used at a very small size. It also had to conform to the overall state guidelines for logo development, fitting into a predetermined width and height ratio. After exploring roughly five different options, a final version was selected, which was then refined and placed into service on letterhead, web pages, advertisements, official publications, hard hat stickers, and many other applications.

The resulting logo places a stylized mountain range over layered type which recalls the geologic strata so important to the mining concerns which interact with the Division on a daily basis.