A prominent graphic designer in Kassel, Germany, has launched a scathing critique of the city's new logo, calling it a regressive step that abandons the city's global identity as documenta-Stadt (documenta City). Helmut Plate, a veteran designer with decades of experience, argues that the new corporate design represents a fundamental misunderstanding of modern visual identity and urban branding.

The controversy centers on Kassel's recent decision to replace its previous logo, which prominently featured the designation "documenta-Stadt," with a design that places the city's coat of arms at the center while relegating the documenta connection to secondary status. The new logo, introduced quietly in early September, has drawn criticism from various quarters, including the documenta forum and local cultural organizations.

Plate, who wrote his first-ever letter to the editor over this issue, describes the change as particularly jarring given his professional background. "This secretive surprise appearance of the logo" represents a fundamental problem, he argues, explaining that a new municipal visual identity "is not something you just conjure up quickly like a lost item from a hat." He criticizes the lack of public presentation and transparent communication, suggesting it reveals the low priority the city assigns to visual identity.

The financial aspects of the logo's development have also raised eyebrows. Plate questions the €7,140 fee paid for what he considers minimal graphic work, asking pointedly, "For what graphic performance, please?" He also questions the need for additional consulting fees and expresses bewilderment that apparently no public tender process took place for the project.

From a professional standpoint, Plate reserves his harshest criticism for the logo's backward-looking aesthetic. "The logo presents itself as if Kassel wants to demonstrate how to catapult itself back to the Middle Ages with full force – at least to 1408," he states, referring to the historical origins of the coat of arms. While modern cities attempt to develop visual identities that radiate attitude, openness, and future orientation, Kassel presents "a historical administrative symbol that resembles an official seal rather than a pulsating art and culture city."

The graphic implementation itself draws particular scorn from the designer. He describes it as "restrained" at best, or more honestly as simply placing "the original coat of arms from 1913 next to the lettering KASSEL." In his professional assessment, this does not constitute genuine corporate design but rather a superficial administrative exercise.

Plate argues that using a city coat of arms as a municipal logo is fundamentally misguided. "Because a coat of arms is exactly that: a coat of arms. A historical sovereign symbol. Not a logo, not a brand, not a visual identity," he explains. He contends that heraldic symbols lack the necessary design clarity and modernity to function as effective contemporary logos, and they fail to invite outsiders to recognize or connect with the city.

The decision to downgrade the "documenta-Stadt" designation particularly troubles the designer, who calls it "fatal." He argues that Kassel is voluntarily abandoning "its globally strongest unique selling point – one that other cities would envy us for if they had a documenta." This timing seems especially poor, coming less than two years before documenta 16, and while new artistic director Naomi Beckwith is generating international attention.

When the city characterizes the new design as an "evolution" of its previous identity, Plate responds with skepticism. "An evolution? With a coat of arms from 1408? That can only be a joke," he states. He argues that while the city speaks of a modern, professional, unified visual identity, the result appears more like "a capitulation to a task that was too large" due to insufficient expertise.

As an alternative approach, Plate points to successful municipal logos from other German cities, including Hamburg, Bremen, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Cologne, and Stuttgart, which have developed contemporary visual identities. He particularly praises a previous Kassel logo designed by Karl Oskar Blase, which used simple visual elements – a green arc representing the city's parks and green spaces, and a blue arc below visualizing the river landscape – while employing modern graphic techniques.

Plate's broader argument centers on the importance of corporate identity for cities in an increasingly competitive environment. Cities compete for tourists, cultural attention, and investments, making effective visual branding essential rather than merely decorative. He outlines what he considers a proper design process: beginning with a briefing, defining goals and messages, having multiple agencies develop proposals, and selecting the best concepts through a qualified process similar to architectural competitions.

The designer's goals for his public criticism are specific and ambitious. He wants the city to reconsider and ideally reverse its decision, immediately reinstating the "documenta-Stadt" designation. He proposes limiting use of the city coat of arms to internal administrative purposes, following the example of cities like Erfurt. For external communication, he advocates for a competitive tender process involving three to five advertising agencies, with results evaluated by a jury of qualified experts.

Ultimately, Plate envisions a modern, contemporary logo with the power to support worldwide communication – "an appearance that doesn't work like an administrative act, but like the confident symbol of a city in the 21st century." His critique reflects broader concerns about how cities present themselves in an globalized world and the professional standards that should govern such crucial branding decisions.

Plate brings significant credentials to his criticism. The 67-year-old designer studied Visual Communication at the Kassel Art Academy under renowned professors including Heinz Nickel, Gunter Rambow, and Karl Oskar Blase. He worked as an assistant to documenta 7 director Rudi Fuchs in 1982 and contributed to Joseph Beuys's famous "7000 Oaks" project. Since founding his agency in 1986, he has created over 100 logos and corporate designs, and since 2004 has focused on book and magazine projects, including publications about Kassel's cultural identity.