REGINA—When the Saskatchewan government replaced the province's iconic wheat logo on communications applications last Thursday, critics felt punched in the breadbasket.

Opposition NDP members called the move "a shameless example of self-promotion," as the colours of the replacement logo match the green and yellow colours used by the ruling Saskatchewan Party. Green and yellow, however, are also the colours of the Saskatchewan flag. Reactions were mixed on Twitter, with many upset to see the wheat sheaf replaced.


The newer logo features yellow/gold swooshes as an abstract wheat sheaf, across a green background in the shape of the province.

The party previously announced in 2007 that they planned to search for a new Saskatchewan logo, but the idea was shut down following criticism.

The swoosh icon is not exactly new. It has been in use in one interation or another for the past three years on out-of-province marketing promotions including billboards and the Think Saskatchewan info website. It will now be used for in-province communications as well.

Donna Crooks, exectutive director of Communications Services, Executive Council, points out that the iconic wheat logo will still be used as part of the government's visual identity, along with the newer swoosh and the province's coat of arms. "The only thing that's changing that had the wheat sheaf on it is our news release template," she said.

The coat of arms will still appear on letterhead, and the wheat sheaf will appear on signage and the province's official pin, for example.

So why was a third logo developed in the first place? Crooks said the others did not reproduce well on all mediums. "For example, outdoor applications, where you might not be able to distinguish what the logo is or says from a distance. Or the coat of arms, which may be indistinguishable to some from any other coat of arms of other provinces," she said.

"This new graphic is very vibrant, it uses the colours of the province, and the shape of the province is very recognizable," she said.

The newer logo was developed and tweaked by a number of agencies and organizations over the years, including Regina's H.J. Linnen and the Phoenix Group, and government agency Enterprise Saskatchewan. The most recent adjustments were made by Saskatoon-based Kinetic design agency, who updated the province's visual identity program including business cards, letterhead, envelopes, media releases and more.

As part of the new identity program Kinetic added the type, "Government of Saskatchewan" in Myriad font.

"I think it's to be expected," said Chris Kleiter, Kinetic accounts and business development manager, about the controversy. "There was a time when Saskatchewan was considered the place not to be. So I think people that stayed here through it all and stuck through it, they feel kind of attached to the wheat sheaf," he said.