UAE seeks own brand logo

Dubai: In a country now home to some of the most famous brand placements in the world, the UAE has launched plans to come up with its very own brand logo to promote itself locally and abroad.

Two months after the UAE was named the second preferred international market by the world’s top 326 retail brands, the UAE is asking the public’s help to select its new future logo.

Five logo finalists have already been chosen and their work has been posted on the website of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The Ruler has also posted the logo launch on Twitter.

Visitors to the website are being given the opportunity to select their favourite brand logo that best represents the country.

“The nation brand logo that you are going to choose is a promotional logo for the UAE. It shall be used locally and internationally to promote a unified identity for the UAE and express its unique aspects setting it apart from other nations around the world,” the website stated. “The UAE nation brand is to be used as a visual identity for the nation, to communicate to the world its vision and tell its story. The nation brand must reflect the UAE’s global economic and political status and its diverse and attractive cultural and business environment, which make it a leading destination for tourism, economic, and cultural activities.”

The push to brand itself is a wise move in a world with a growing roster of big brand logos and recognisable names, said a Dubai-based branding expert on Sunday.

Haroon Popal, creative manager at Creative Studio, is a specialist in branding, design and logos and said that the branding move “means the UAE wants to position itself in the world to be recognised. Brand awareness is very necessary.”

Branding, he said, is more than just picking a graphic and a fancy font.

“When you brand something, it adds value, whether it’s a company or a country. It becomes valuable,” Popal said.

Constantly exposing a brand to the public also helps create a sense of awareness and identity that people begin to recognise automatically,

“When you see something again and again, you start building trust. It will create recognition, build trust. It also helps one to identify itself a certain style,” Popal said.

Whenever an entity chooses to rebrand, it means they are seeking increased awareness about who they are, what they offer and the values for which they stand, he said.

Voting for the new logo semi-finalists began on Sunday and will remain open until July 18 - visitors to the website can only vote for one design.