So which Art Director or Designer is willing to come forward with their designs?

Tourism Ministry wants your help to save Visit Malaysia 2020 logo

In January 2019, the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo had its share of unwanted, negative attention from social media after it was presented at a launch of at the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2018 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The logo featured caricaturish sketches of an orangutan hugging a proboscis monkey alongside a turtle on a beach, all wearing sunglasses, and the logo’s text incorporates the Petronas Twin Towers.
It was then discovered that the Visit Malaysia 2020 logo lifted “Travel, Enjoy, Respect” tagline from World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)’s September 2017 campaign.

Despite the backlash, Former Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz defended the “creation” done by the ministry’s in-house staff and maintained it was here to stay. “I’d rather trust my staff than the netizens. Anyway, it was never meant for the locals, it was meant for tourists.”

Thankfully with a new government, new cabinet, and a new tourism minister in place, the controversial logo is getting is finally getting the makeover it deserves.

Tourism and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi confirmed that the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry is planning a contest to find its replacement.

“It will be an open contest this time. The idea is to get a proper design with Malaysians joining in to give their perspective,” said Mohamaddin.

He went on to say that it has not been fully decided whether the competition would call for the logo to be completely redesigned or just “touched up”, adding that a discussion at the ministerial level will soon be held to decide on the details.

So which Art Director or Designer is willing to come front with their designs and save Malaysia’s image once and for all?

After 20 years of evolving technology, shifting market trends, and adapting to changing consumer behaviour, the media landscape has nearly reached saturation.

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