Ogilvy Marks Chicago's 183rd Anniversary with Fresh Visual Design

As the City of Chicago marked the 183rd anniversary of its incorporation this week, Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a birthday gift from Ogilvy: a new unified visual design system.

Among its many new attributes, the Chicago Design System features a new city lockup, which includes Chicago’s famous star and a custom font appropriately named 'Big Shoulders', a nod to Chicago’s industrial past. The new design system focuses on ensuring that people from around the world can more seamlessly recognise Chicago’s communications and campaigns. It also puts special emphasis on accessibility and makes the iconic features of the new design system openly available to residents to interpret and use in their own daily lives. 

Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot said: “I am pleased to be taking a new step in Chicago history by launching a design system that aligns with my core values of inclusivity, accessibility and transparency for our great city. Launching this new chapter in our history not only means a fresh look for our City, but it also marks a milestone in ensuring everything we create aligns with our values as a City.”

Gabe Usadel, executive director of design at Ogilvy, said: “This new design system and branding incorporates community input, reflects the City’s rich history and the qualities that make Chicagoans who we are: welcoming, hardworking, innovative, inspired, and forward-thinking. We’re so honoured to offer this design system as a birthday gift to the city we love. We are grateful to the City for encouraging creativity, for continuing to allow us to be aspirational, to think big, and to make no small plans.”

“Ogilvy’s Chicago office opened nearly 45 years ago and from the day Ogilvy arrived, Chicago’s residents made our company feel at home. The headline of Ogilvy’s first ad in Chicago was 'Thanks for the Peach Pie, Chicago'. It served as a full-page expression of gratitude from the Ogilvy staff members to the people of Chicago — for the ‘Midwestern-style hospitality and experiences’ that included friendly plumbers, generous restaurateurs, kind realtors, and a true Chicago neighbour who welcomed one Ogilvy family with an actual homemade peach pie. So, this was a true passion project for us. The majority of our staff still live, work and play here, and we care about the City.”

Over the years Ogilvy has lent its talent and creativity to the City and local non-profits such as the Steppenwolf Theater, The Lyric Opera, Joffrey Ballet, Chicago Film Festival, Chicago Fire Department, and most recently the One Chicago campaign.