The #VisitMalaysia2020 Logo Was Apparently Designed By An "Award-Winning Senior Designer"
Hmm.
By John Lim — 27 Mar 2018, 01:40 PM
It was one of the most heavily discussed topics on social media earlier this year.
We're of course talking about the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo. The graphic, featuring apes in shades and wacky fonts, received heavy criticism and backlash from Malaysians due to its amateurish design.
The whole fiasco prompted local graphic designers to produce their own take on the logo, and honestly, they did so much better.
Not much was known about the designer behind the logo apart from Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz indicating that it was done internally
Nazri told The Star Online that despite receiving flak from netizens, he is standing by the logo as it was done internally and the ministry did not spend a single cent on it.
Fast forward to 26 March, Nazri decided to address the logo again, revealing the accolades received by the designer of the infamous graphic
According to the Malay Mail Online, the logo was apparently designed by an in-house senior graphic designer with extensive experience and multiple awards to his/her name.
Nazri wrote in a parliamentary reply that the unnamed designer had won several national and international logo designing contests including the National Registration Department logo competition in 1979.
"The designer had also helped create the Year of Festivals 2015 logo, MOTAC's logo, MCAT, as well as designing the Malaysian pavilion at the Asean Tourism Forum in Brunei (2010), Cambodia (2011), Indonesia (2012), and Manila (2013)," he said as quoted by the English daily yesterday, 26 March.
Nazri also explained why the ministry did not organise a logo competition, as suggested by the public
The answer is simple - the ministry could not afford to.
"Due to financial constraint to organise a logo competition, the ministry had taken the initiative in utilising our experienced in-house designers, who are also experts in promoting national tourism."
The logo was launched at a ceremony on 26 January in conjunction with the Asean Tourism Forum 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
