Street Banners Downtown Say Nothing About Woodinville to Me, How About You?

I am a local artist and I take a great deal of interest in the art and imagerythat appears in my local environment, whether it is for promotional purposes orjust to enliven a window or street corner. I have to say my heart sank when I first saw the ‘Downtown Woodinville’ banners go up and had hopes that I might warm to them. However, I see them every day and am still struck by how dull they are and how very contrary that is to the way Woodinville sees itself. 

I feel that a really wonderful opportunity to celebrate the style, culture and
color of Woodinville has been missed. I am sure that the designer involved only
needed a more inspirational brief but they appear to be a diluted version of
the old Woodinville sign depicting a mountain (Rainier? but as seen from the
south?!), three fir trees and a river in blue, green and white. This image says
absolutely nothing about Woodinville. It is not what I take away from this fantastic area, apart from the fact that there is much more color to the landscape, the Sammamish River Valley means a great deal more to me, visually speaking. 

Where is the farmland? Where are the vegetable growers, the iconic
tall walls of poplars that fringe the river, the horses, the cyclists, the cottonwood trees, the picnickers, the nurseries, the gardeners, the dog walkers, the concert
goers, the world class food, the wine tasters? Whilst the town’s brand is much
broader than grapes and hot air balloons, the wineries, brewers and distillers
give Woodinville huge kudos and are integral to this list.

I’m not saying one should use all that imagery but tell visitors what makes this
place unique, leave them with a clear idea of Woodinville’s identity because it
is not just about the geography, surely? It is about the caliber of the
residents, commerce and industry and the lifestyle. The town may not be visually cohesive yet but it certainly has a strong awareness of what makes it great.

Oh and I would also like to add that they are just a little too small.

Bothell’s are much bigger :)

I wondered if other people had noticed the banners and what
their reaction was. I have many ideas around how to define downtown
Woodinville, visually, that I think would be far more engaging. I would love to hear what other people might suggest…