The Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo (BAMZ) and The Bermuda Zoological Society (BZS) have decided on a new logo in celebration of their 75th anniversary at their Flatts location. The logo was chosen following a competition.

Environment Minister Terry Lister was on hand this week to congratulate winner of the open competition, Mujib Swan. Winner of the student competition was Jermiko Dillas.

Mr. Swan is a staff member at BAMZ and his new logo will be used by BAMZ and BZS immediately.

The 29-year-old from Hamilton Parish became a zookeeper in March last year and has developed his interest in photography and art.

Mr. Swan explained that he had never had any training or worked in the design field, but knew that he was after a simple logo.

He wanted it to be recognised from a distance and explained the concept behind the winning design which incorporated a flamingo, a fish and a plant.

He said: "The flamingo represents the zoo, the fish represents the aquarium, and the plant represents the flora and museum.'' Mr. Swan noted that many aspects of BAMZ's current endeavours were reflected in his design.

It is the 75th anniversary, and this year a flamingo breeding programme was introduced. The fish represented how BAMZ originated as an aquarium, and the flora reflected the growth of BAMZ as a museum.

Mr. Swan was happy to win, but said the historical value of designing the new logo was the greatest reward.

He said: "I have been reading a lot of history (about BAMZ) and this is where a lot of inspiration has come from.'' Mr. Dillas works in the Zoo on Sundays as a Junior Volunteer Mentor, and first heard about the competition after it was an assignment in his art class at school.

Delighted to win, he said: "I had a couple of ideas, this one was just one of about five designs.'' Principal curator Jack Ward said: "Although neither of these young men is a professional artist, we believe they were able to capture the heart of our organisation because they so completely understand our facility, the work we do and our mission.'' The old logo was designed by Vicky Van Scriver over 20 years ago and after the competition to design a new logo was announced in late August, nearly 200 entries were received.

A public exhibition and judging took place in November at the Bermuda Society of Arts gallery in City Hall. The entries were then taken back to BAMZ in December where staff were given the opportunity to cast additional votes as they have the most personal interest in the logo.

The last stage was for entries that had received the most votes to be given to a committee of graphics professionals to make the final decision.

The committee was composed of Sheila Semos of Advantage Ltd, Chris Marson of Government Information Services, artist Don Trousdell, BAMZ graphic artist Jason Semos, and Lynda Dunstan of Friends of the Bermuda Aquarium, who has a design background.

Without seeing the entrants' names, the committee unanimously selected Mr.

Dillas' entry as the best of the student's artwork, and Mr. Swan's as the new logo.

Because Mr. Swan is not a professional graphic artist, his design was submitted as a drawing on paper and he worked closely with Jason Semos in transferring the design to the computer.

The logo was also adapted to fit with the organisational names and the committee of graphic artists agreed that such adaption was appropriate.

Mr. Swan received a $1,000 prize for his winning design and Mr. Dillas won $500 for winning the student category.

Mr. Ward said the Aquarium was founded in Flatts Village in 1926.

"We saw this milestone as the perfect opportunity to find a new logo to better reflect the scope of our facility today. We are completely satisfied that Mujib's design captures the essence of who we are,'' said Mr. Ward.

He continued: "As you know, the zoo has grown to be as important as the aquarium, and within the next couple of years, we'll be transforming the museum into an exciting new centre for natural history and conservation issues. What's more, conservation research and education are increasingly vital components of the work we do.'' The joint aim of BAMZ and BZS is to inspire appreciation and care of Island environments.

The logo competition was sponsored by Butterfield and Vallis and the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd., which provided the prize money for the winners.

Masterworks Foundation and the Bermuda Society of Arts helped promote the competition and provided prizes.

Bright ideas: Winners of the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo's logo competition were announced this week. Pictured from left with the winning designs are: Jim Butterfield of sponsors, Butterfield and Vallis; Environment Minister Terry Lister; open winner and new logo designer, Mujib Swan; student Winner Jermiko Dillas; and Principal Curator Jack Ward.