Visit Albuquerque overhauls its logo for marketing

New design’s flexibility allows various versions depending on medium, message

Say goodbye to those elongated, nearly mustachioed, Qs.

Albuquerque, the word at least, is going to look a lot different in marketing efforts used to lure visitors to the Duke City.

Visit Albuquerque has overhauled its logo for the first time in a decade, unveiling on Tuesday a new version — or versions — meant to reflect the city’s cultures, food, landscape, architecture and more.

But the mark that will get literally millions of impressions via the agency’s various advertising campaigns is actually a fluid creature that can incorporate different colors and images and even swap out ABQ for “Albuquerque,” depending on the medium.

“It’s a logo centuries in the making and one that also faces eagerly toward the future,” Visit Albuquerque’s President and CEO Tania Armenta told an audience of about 250 at the agency’s quarterly luncheon. “Like the city it represents, our new symbol is made from both old and new, traditional and innovative, the earth and the sky and without them, it wouldn’t be Albuquerque.”

Visit Albuquerque worked with McKee Wallwork + Co. on the new design. Steve McKee said the process, led by creative director David Ortega, began in late spring and yielded a blueprint that can shift as necessary. Many brands have moved in that direction, toying with their logos to convey different messages. Asked how many iterations Visit Albuquerque’s will have, he said, “Who knows?”

“We want to let it live and breathe and see where it takes you,” he said.

It can change based on the audience, from the older travelers that Visit Albuquerque has long targeted to the younger adventure seekers the city is increasingly trying to woo, Armenta said.

Other priorities included legibility — “Albuquerque is a hard word to spell,” she said — linking the image to the city’s culture and evoking emotion.

“We think that this is a beautiful representation and encapsulates what we would want to communicate about Albuquerque,” Armenta said in an interview.