Whether you can believe it or not, someone has actually gone to the trouble of ranking the design of every single Council logo in the UK.
It’s mad, but the commitment to the cause can only be applauded.
There are a total of 403 Councils right across the UK which have been featured on this “totally objective” list compiled by freelance writer and graphic designer Robin Wilde – who also “once worked in politics” – and published to their blog website.
How have the logos been ranked? Robin explains that: “Each has been ranked using some broad criteria accounting for the adherence to design principles, the originality of the concept, and the technical execution, with nebulous bonus points added or subtracted on a whim.”
And out of the 403 Councils in the UK, Bury is at 402.
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“Bury sits north of Manchester,” Robin explains, “and is notable for having one of the UK’s largest Jewish population clusters outside of London [but] unfortunately, it’s also got a logo like a dodgy construction company you’d see on ITV2.
“Bury Council pay cash in hand for a skip they never bother to collect,” they conclude.
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Bury Council ranks the lowest on the list at 402 out of 403 / Credit: Bury Council
Credit: Manchester City Council | Tameside Council
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council ranks at 275, Trafford comes in at 241, and Rochdale takes the 207th spot.
Manchester City Council itself then comes in at number 150.
Wigan takes 108th spot on the list, with its “understated and cute” heart and “generic colour combo” making the logo appear like “a mid-range gym chain”.
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105th place on the list goes to Salford City Council, with Robin saying that although they “adore the bold hot pink” and the font is “nicely chosen”, the logo “doesn’t quite justify the existence of a council area which should by rights have been absorbed into Manchester years ago.”
Oldham Council takes 88th spot on the list, with Robin Wilde writing: “A gradient fill is best avoided with logo work as it limits your range of use cases, particularly against busy backgrounds or when no colour can be used.”
“The overall look is striking at a glance, however,” they added.
Bolton Council takes the highest spot at 28 / Credit: Bolton Council
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council has claimed 66 on this list, with it’s “crest, but make it tasteful” praised and noted that it “seems particularly prevalent in the North”.
Out of all the 10 Councils in Greater Manchester, it’s the borough of Bolton that has taken the highest spot on the list – and it’s the highest on the list by quite some way, we might add – coming in at number 28, with Robin Wilde explaining: “A solid slab serif wordmark on its own, it’s enhanced by its use in masking the colourful patchwork emphasising the city’s variety and diversity.”
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The number one spot on the list has been awarded to Bedford Borough Council, which was praised for its “very strong use of pretty much every element” in its logo.
York, Renfrewshire, Wirral, and West Lothian each round out the top five.
Featured Image – Flickr | Bolton Council, Tameside Council, & Bury Council
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Manchester’s Club de Padel claps back at ’embarrassing’ copycat ASOS product
Daisy Jackson
A local Manchester business has sarcastically pointed out the glaring similarities between a new t-shirt on ASOS and one of its own designs.
Club de Padel has a range of retro-inspired merch with UN:IK, a small independent streetwear brand also based here in Manchester.
Its collection of t-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits, hats and bags often feature a design of an illustrated padel ball (which to the untrained eye is basically a tennis ball) in motion.
But this week a t-shirt appeared on ASOS that also featured an illustrated padel ball in motion, just in a slightly different colour palette.
The ASOS version, which has now been removed from sale, also undercut Club de Padel’s price by £6.
Since Club de Padel took the ’embarrassing’ copycat product public on their Instagram page, ASOS has launched an investigation and taken it off their website.
The sports venture, based at Deansgate Square and the only padel club in Manchester, wrote: “Love the new designs ASOS, kinda reminds us of something though…
The ASOS t-shirt that Club de Padel has said copies their merch. Credit: ASOSClub de Padel’s t-shirt created by Manchester brand UN:IK. Credit: Club de Padel
“Ah. Well that’s embarrassing… We’ve got a new line coming soon with UN:IK Clothing you’re just gonna love ASOS.
“In the meantime we made this for you @asos, save your design team a job.”
An ASOS spokesperson said: “We take intellectual property issues very seriously and have removed this product from sale while we investigate further.”
Of the Club de Padel and UN:IK collaboration, aka the real deal, UN:IK says it has ‘served up a staple for us, retro inspired leisure pieces with Manchester’s first ever padel club’.
Club de Padel in Manchester has gone public to poke fun at ASOS
They wrote: “Inspired by owners after a trip to Spain, Club de Padel has hit the city with a wave and the lifestyle brand we have created with them reinforces the fastest growing sport across Europe.
“Our classic vintage washes and oversized fits, working with independent designs as always on this local independent partnership. Don’t be afraid to the sport, we’ll guarantee you love it as much as these clothes.”
Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s ‘favourite’ brand of teabags, according to new data
Danny Jones
The Great British debate of which teabag is best is one that will rage on for millennia, that’s just the way it is, but according to new data, it sounds like we might at least have an answer to which brand makes for Manchester’s favourite brew.
It won’t be a surprise to many of you and we can certainly confirm it on our end but the one and only Yorkshire Tea looks to have taken the cuppa crown when it comes not only to Manchester’s preferred teabag but seemingly the best-loved in Britain as a whole.
This is according to numbers pulled by local firm, TonerGiant. The Atherton-based ink and toner suppliers decided a poll around the office wasn’t enough and instead chose to turn their knowledge of the market and consumer trends into a bit of online research.
At the end of the day, tea has got to be the most important of all office supplies, surely?
According to the stats, Yorkshire Tea is Manchester’s favourite brand of tea bags. (Credit: Yorkshire Tea)
Using data from trusted online source Statista, which nailed down the top 25 teabag brands in the UK, each make was then ranked in relation to its average monthly searches via Google Keyword Planner to reveal that Yorkshire Tea was clearly the top dog.
With roughly 390 searches per month in Manchester alone, compared to PG Tips as the next best (260), it seems us Mancs have to concede at least one thing to our fellow Northern county: Yorkshire makes a bloody good brew.
The Roses rivalry raged for centuries but if there’s one thing that brings us together, it’s a good cuppa.
In terms of other tea brands that came in high on the leaderboard, Pukka Tea (170), Twinings (140)and Teapigs (90) made up the rest of the top five most-searched tea brands in Greater Manchester. It’s also interesting to see how those figures looked when extrapolated nationwide. Here’s the full ranking:
Rank
Tea
Average UK monthly searches
1
Yorkshire Tea
27,100
2
PG Tips
18,100
3
Pukka Tea
14,800
4
Twinings
12,100
5
Teapigs
8,100
6
Whittards Tea
6,600
7
Tetley
4,400
8
Clipper Tea
4,400
9
Lipton Tea
3,600
10
Barrys Tea
3,600
11
Thompsons Tea
1,300
12
Typhoo
1,300
13
Taylors Tea
1,300
14
M&S Tea
1,300
15
Tesco Tea
1,000
16
Tick Tock Tea
880
17
Sainsbury’s Tea
720
18
Lyons Tea
720
19
Asda Tea
590
20
Aldi Tea
590
21
Waitrose Tea
590
22
Lidl Tea
480
23
Morrisons Tea
320
24
Bewleys Tea
90
25
Cafedirect Tea
40
Few of these on here we’ve never heard of. Taste test, anyone?
While Yorkshire Tea was found to be Manchester’s and the nation’s favourite, Belfast was the only UK city where Yorkshire Tea didn’t take the top spot. Instead, it was Irish-owned Barry’s Tea that came out as their favourite – we definitely need to hold a ‘brew-off’ between the two. The Hoot, you up for it?
As for supermarket’s own-brand offerings, out of the eight options on the list, Marks and Spencer’s teabags were found to be the most popular, closely followed by Tesco and then Sainsbury’s.
Commenting on the findings, TonerGiant’s Stuart Deavall said: “With so many office workers opting for tea to get through the day, it’s no surprise that the UK has a day dedicated to the drink.
“In light of National Tea Day on Sunday, 21 April, our new data shows that Yorkshire Tea is the nation’s favourite, with over 27,000 Brits searching every month… We can expect many Brits to be celebrating in style this Sunday, no doubt with a mug of Yorkshire tea in hand”. Speaking of, anyone fancy a brew?…
Emily Sergeant -
21st December 2021 
