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by Dave Soulia, FYIVT.com
When Vermont unveiled its official logo for the state’s 250th anniversary earlier this year, public reaction ranged from puzzled to politely underwhelmed. But behind the minimalist design lies a more troubling story: key visual elements were banned—church steeples, red-white-and-blue, farms, barns, even recognizable Vermont mountains—and there’s no public record showing anyone ever approved those restrictions.
FYIVT set out to find the four remaining logo finalists mentioned in our prior article. We found them—six in total—contained within a design presentation by Place Creative Company. That’s when we noticed something else: a slide titled “What to Embrace / What to Avoid.” It appeared to lay out strict branding boundaries, and it excluded nearly every icon Vermonters associate with their history.
What began as a logo investigation quickly became a broader inquiry into transparency, authorship, and decision-making at the heart of Vermont’s semiquincentennial branding.
“What to Avoid”: The Rules That Shaped the Logo
According to Place Creative’s official listening session summary, the firm developed the embrace/avoid list based on two January 2024 listening sessions and a 112-response online survey.
Here’s what they said to avoid:
- No church steeples
- No identifiable mountains
- No farms or barns
- No specific people (historic or modern)
- No red, white, and blue
What to embrace, according to the same list: shapes, abstractions, symbols, the shape of Vermont, and “Vermont 250th Anniversary”.
But there’s a catch. The listening session report makes clear that while the survey showed respondents favoring Vermont’s geography, farms, forests, and history, the handful of attendees at the closed-door listening sessions voiced concern that such imagery was “overused” or “not inclusive.” It was those curated voices—not the survey majority—that became the guiding influence.
The visual identity guidelines—no steeples, no red-white-blue, no specific people—reflect a broader design philosophy rooted in what’s often called postmodernism. Rather than depict literal history or familiar Vermont icons, the designers favored abstract symbols, emotional tone, and what they described as “universal” themes. The result is a commemorative logo that looks less like Vermont—and more like a corporate rebrand.
What Is Postmodern Design?
Postmodernism in design rejects literal depictions of history, people, or place. Instead, it favors abstraction, emotional ambiguity, and symbolism. Critics say it often strips away local meaning in the name of inclusivity or modernity.
Manufactured Consensus
In video transcripts of the logo presentation, Place Creative staff acknowledge that the “full report and survey results were approved by the marketing committee.” But there is no vote in any minutes confirming that action, and it appears to refer only to a subset of members—likely no more than two to four people.
A key admission appears in the presentation transcript:
“We wanted to avoid symbols that might feel exclusionary to some—like red, white, and blue… instead of grounding it in any one town or one story, we abstracted it to make it universal.”
While 112 Vermonters filled out the official public survey, the final branding rules were based on input from just 24 people—mostly state insiders—participating in two closed-door “listening sessions” led by the design firm itself. Their interpretation, not the public’s, dictated what Vermont’s 250th could and couldn’t look like.
In short, the design team interpreted a narrow subset of stakeholder input as justification to override majority sentiment—and no one in the full Committee appears to have challenged them.
No Record of Approval
FYIVT reviewed every 2024 meeting agenda and set of minutes from the Vermont 250th Committee, its advisory and marketing committees, and relevant working groups. Nowhere in those records is there a vote, motion, or even discussion affirming Place Creative’s embrace/avoid rules as official.
The rules first appear in Place’s February 16, 2024 presentation to the full Committee. That meeting contains no record of debate or objection—only a brief comment from historian Tom Hughes, who expressed concern that the materials “made no mention of the Green Mountain Boys” or other foundational figures. No action was taken on his comment.
From there, the rules simply became canon. When six logo options were presented weeks later, each one had already followed the unvoted restrictions. By March 27, the Committee voted to adopt Concept 1—without ever voting on the rules that eliminated traditional Vermont symbolism from every choice.
Vermont 250 Committee Members
| Committee / Role | Commissioner & Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Administration and Financial Committee | Jim Brangan (Chair); Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership (Vice Chair) |
| Executive Committee | Laura V. Trieschmann (Chair); State Historic Preservation Officer |
| Marketing and Public Outreach Committee | Martin Mahoney (Chair); Bennington Museum |
| Research and Culture Committee | Susan Evans McClure (Chair); Vermont Arts Council |
| School and Teacher Outreach Committee | Israel Provoncha (Chair); Re-enactor and Historian/Teacher |
| Heather Pelham, Commissioner of the Department of Tourism and Marketing | |
| Paul Deslandes, University of Vermont, Department of History | |
| Tom Hughes, Historian | |
| Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup, Vermont Humanities | |
| Stephen Perkins, Vermont Historical Society | |
| Catherine Delneo, State Librarian | |
| Jonah Spivak, Friends of the Battle Monument; Friends of the Bennington Battlefield | |
| Breanna Sheehan, Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs Representative |
“What? No Barns?”
As part of our reporting, FYIVT reached out to committee members, state officials, and stakeholders for comment. Most have not returned voicemails or emails. One exception: the Governor’s office. A spokesperson told FYIVT that Governor Scott’s involvement was limited to creating the commission. He had no review role in the branding process and “has not seen or approved” the logo materials prior to their release.
Meanwhile, everyday Vermonters have taken note of what’s missing.
“What? No barns? That’s not Vermont,” said Perry Thomas, of the now-closed Thomas Dairy, which operated in Rutland from 1920 to 2020.
Veteran journalist Guy Page (Vermont Daily Chronicle) offered a historical perspective:
“It baffles me that church steeples were explicitly excluded from the logo. Some of our most iconic scenes feature steeples—like the Unitarian-Universalist church on Church Street, and the Cambridge United Church in the Alden Bryan painting behind the Governor’s press podium. Vermont now and for the last 250 years has been a state built around small towns, every one of which has a church serving as a community center. And finally, Vermont was the site of intense revivals in the 19th century. The two founders of the Mormon faith, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, were born here.”
“Not What Vermont Is—But What It Could Become”
Place Creative’s listening session report explains that the design identity was meant to be “not dated, not overly patriotic, not overly literal,” and to reflect “what Vermont could become.” But this future-facing ideology stands in sharp contrast to Vermont’s 250th—an event rooted in honoring the past.
Despite promising to celebrate “shared historical identity,” the final logo suite makes no reference to the Green Mountain Boys, Ethan Allen, Ann Story, small-town identity, or even the state’s natural geography.
This has implications not just for history buffs, but for Vermont’s children.
Studies from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) show that visible, emotional symbols—like historic figures, flags, steeples, and rural landscapes—play a vital role in anchoring civic identity and historical memory in young learners. As The Psychology of Citizenship and Civic Engagement observes, removing those emotionally resonant elements risks making public commemorations feel abstract and hollow—especially for children forming their first impressions of civic life.
The Result: A Process Without a Vote
From the initial listening sessions to the final logo adoption, one thing becomes clear: there was no democratic review of the rules that defined what Vermont’s 250th could look like.
The decisions weren’t voted on. They weren’t challenged. They were simply presented—then adopted by omission.
At its best, Vermont’s 250th could have been a celebration of where we came from, where we are, and where we’re going. But as the branding story shows, we may have skipped the beginning and middle part—without even realizing it.
Here’s looking toward 2076!
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Categories: News Analysis
Really, “not overly patriotic”, “what Vermont could become”! Just proves that these people have moved here with an agenda that they could not accomplish anywhere else! They didn’t come here to respect what is here, they came here to change it to their own arrogant liking! It’s really shameful! Poor old Vermont!
Amen brother !
As with so many things today, the Leftists in charge had a preconceived plan and the surveys and planning sessions were a ruse to be ignored and try to give their scam legitimacy.
“removing those emotionally resonant elements risks making public commemorations feel abstract and hollow—especially for children forming their first impressions of civic life.” To put in tech terms, that’s not a bug, it’s a feature.
How about a dunce cap?
This so called “logo” is worthy of being impaled by a Green Mountain Boy’s sabor!
A dunce cap on top of the golden dome in Montpelier. Or, get some native Vermonters involved.
Good luck finding them. Thousands of them have fled the socialist dystopia and now live in Tennessee, Nortj Carolina, and Kentucky.
How about flat land, evs and a rainbow colored yak?
Remember the beautiful mural depicting Vermont’s history on Church Street? These days history is a taboo subject, except to point out how marginalized groups were victims of oppression. Those poor Germans, outsmarted by the Jews. Something had to be done.
Are the same people who participated in the NO KINGS rally’s planning on protesting this totalitarian display of arrogance?
From what gutter did these Flatlanders come from that are listed in the ATTENDEES and the principals that organized it all? I can’t envision any other state that has this scenario. What group of people would want to destroy a great state image of past accomplishments?
I was born, schooled and protected this state. My childhood images are implanted in my mind that formed a foundation of my being. VT was special in many ways. Now look at it—-Flatlander heaven bringing all their crap, the Government elected people, hell bent to destroy. Flatlanders moved here to realize an utopia in their minds, Yup they sure did. TAKE BACK VERMONT signs were generated because of the influx and destroyers.
Now this—-completely wipes out the Vermont image. Noted what’s not on the list of EMBRACE and AVOID is the Maple Syrup industry and the image syrup brings to the state. A shred of reality, but wait, It’ll be included. 25 people on the ATTENDEES list, all gutter creatures and they want any report confidential. That’s a back stabbing ever conceived. Now China thinks Vermont is GOLD.
There was an article about a dog lover sexually attacking dogs. Now these these 25 dogs are attacking Vermont.
They are Communists. Otherwise known as Marxists – or in today’s day & age “democrat socialists”.
They emerge to forcibly thrust this entire nation – not just little Vermont – into a Communist style of governance.
They hail from a host of varying backgrounds – from states out west, down south, and within Vermont itself including the several dozen of your VT legislators currently serving in Montpelier who were BORN n’ RAISED in the Green Mt State – some of whose ancestors’ date back prior to the era of VT statehood. Maybe you ought to peruse your elected officer’s biographies available right online 24/7.
To those who relocate here from states within this Union such as Colorado, Washington State, Montana, etc. – Vermont itself is a “flatland” as their home state mountain ranges dwarf the hills here — Ask any serious skier who takes on the epic slopes of Colorado as compared to those at Killington.
But do keep fantasizing that the problem are fellow patriotic countrymen who relocate from other states as the constitution protects and as your own ancestors once did themselves – and conveniently neglect to recognize your own “natives” who serve in the legislature in sizeable numbers pushing this Communist agenda along with their comrades.
The less ability you and your buds on here have to actually identify the true enemy, the easier it is for them to take over the USA.
“Flatlanders”. Lol. That’s what you’re being referred to by the dude in Woodstock who came here from Breckenridge.
I wonder what the “natives” of the rest of the 49 states call the thousands of Vermonters who relocate to THOSE states & live there now as “foreigners” in those “strange lands”. Again, Lol…..
Keep taking punches with those blinders on.
To Ms Gaffney: When I was in later High School 1956-1958 Vermont was a rather isolated great state to live in and be raised. There wasn’t an influx of Flatlanders. However these people would snicker at us, call us “Hicks From the Sticks”, and “uncouth” the mention was to put down Vermonters. Never mind, we were peaceful and lived our lives very nicely. Then came the interstate arteries and the invasion. Now VT was cool to them because they took advantage of the VT people. Most people who don’t like the word we use to describe the influx don’t have a clue what VT. I’d hay fields before the balers, loose hay. Once in a while a car would stop and watch us work in the hot sun. We knew who they were. In the two years mentioned Spfld HS basketball team won the VT state championship. We and the other six states were invited to the New England championship at Boston Garden. Our cheerleaders had their routines. Audience people would grin and mimic them, a put down. One player on the SHS squad got to shoot baskets with Bob Cousy. We have been put down and lived a great life. The word Flatlander describes people that moved to VT, if you take it being demeaning, that’s a wrong opinion. You need to learn VT history.
This is the effect of the legacy of Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault ,two deranged French philosophers of the 70s who promoted the nefarious philosophy called “Deconstructionism“. This movement was widely adopted by the American academics of the seventies . Their students have become today’s academics and propagate that deconstructionist “tear America down agenda and mindset ” with all their vigor. Very successful in Vermont A+++!!!
. The proposed 250 Vermont logo is a pathetic expression of “Deconstructed Vermont“.
Shame on the makers of those bland designs ! I am a Belgian American coming from an extremely rich, bilingual and old culture. I moved to Vermont with a deep respect for everything that makes Vermont – that the committee on the flag has rejected.
I do not expect any Vermonter to feel that they need to engage with my Belgian culture nor do I need to see my Belgian culture shining in any way or matter in Vermont. Here , in Vermont, I am a Vermonter. For its steeples, barns, fields , mountains and for its proud history of independence and resourcefulness .
I am of the exact same mind as you. My husband and I bought land here in 2003 and moved here permanently from Maryland in 2018. His Father was born and raised in Randolph Center and we have family throughout the State! We came here to live like real, lifelong Vermonters do. We are disgusted by what is happening in Montpelier and Burlington by people who want to change the way of life permanently of True Vermonters! At least we live in Essex County but we stand with the true people of Vermont!
Keep the Bolsheviks down Monique! Erasing history is their modus operandi.
I agree thoroughly. I came here 50 years ago from NJ. I did not want to change any thing, I did not want it to be like NJ in any way. I wanted it to retain the VT charm, that is why I came here. Unfortunately we have been infested with people trying to make changes. From turning off the spring water to roadside memorials, to screwing up a once fine education system, to replacing ‘no billboards’ with shiny solar panel farms, VT is becoming bluer and bluer and that is not good for me.
As the song sort of says, “Take this logo and…..shove it in the trash.” I’ll keep my steeple, my mountains, the American flag on my hay shed, and my goats, chickens, and ducks. Just go build another sidewalk, why don’t ya? Better yet, go back to where you came from.
Not even red, white, and blue???
It all speaks of an undermining and rejection of the very Author, Architect, and Creator of reality and history (His story) itself. And He is also the One who inspired the extraordinary confluence of patriots, who relied on Him, to found our great republic and courageously break free from the tyranny of the king of England.
If you drive through Stowe village at the junction of Main Street and the Mountain Road, you will see no finer example of this than the absurd and patently ugly giant steel Twizzler being passed off as “art.” Once again, this silly eyesore is a reflection of man’s attempt to push God, the source of all beauty and truth, out of every aspect of human life.
“Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’”
Psalms 2:1-3 NASB
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
Romans 1:18-23 NASB
This concept/logo is a historical travesty that has been designed and marketed by biased individuals that have very poor critical thinking skills and a lack of historical perspective. This should be boycotted and changed. Any and all cute bumper stickers and other printed material can rot in a warehouse and end up in a landfill for all I care. Boycott this design firm also. They have no design and conceptual integrity.
Now that the firm of “Place Creative” has been mentioned as foremost in preparing this abomination, I’m assuming that they didn’t do it for free, which means that the Vermonters paid for this piece of, whatever it is. What a tragic waste of taxpayer money.
The presented logo is not an appropriate symbol for the 250th Anniversary of Vermont Statehood.
Seems that the only considerations for design, beyond ‘250,’ were DEI and Gay Pride.
This logo is a piece of crap!
It is NOT liked by the majority of Vermonters!
The incompetent members of the current “Vermont 250th Anniversary Committee” need to be dismissed, without any thanks!
And a new logo, more representative of a wonderful and historic Vermont, needs to be rapidly conceived by Vintage Vermonters, not recently arrived progressive, liberal, leftist whack jobs!
Just my thoughts…
Two thumbs up!!!
How about a nice drawing of Champ patrolling our Northern waterways border, with the logo…250 years of “Don’t Tread Water on Me!”
PS: One of the great problems in our country and Vermont is that we are governed by people who care more about feelings than they do about critical thinking and ideas.
Rant over.
Well holy damn, flush Vermont tradition down the toilet and make it as gay as possible without starting a revolution. Sounds pretty non-inclusive to the majority as it stands now. But, oh yeah, the people’s voice doesn’t count for anything in Vermont anymore.
As a naive born white straight guy, I feel my rights have been discriminated against.
I would like to offer my congratulations to the insider committee, and the organization or individual who designed the winning logo. Whether intended or not, the finished logo appears to honor Vermont as the 14th state in the most appropriate way possible: the logo appears to have cost $0.14 to be designed and executed.
First, since when is red, white, and blue exclusionary?
Second, if this was intended to represent the gay movement, it misses the point, because the colors are wrong. Actually, it represents nothing, because there was never a “rainbow” like this before. How much did it cost to develop this disaster?
More to the point, how do we junk it and start over? And if we’re told that’s not possible, perhaps a few (all it takes is a few, right?) sane people can develop an alternative design and market it to people who know the real Vermont.
This logo is about as far from representing quintessential Vermont as one can get. Their goal of wanting an abstract logo was achieved in flying colors by this millennial group (made up by 25% dogs according to their website) of “in the box” thinkers. Ironically, Place Creative’s “About Us” webpage opens with the statement, “No ego. All awesome.”
One thing is for certain, this logo will not sell many refrigerator magnets to tourists and will soon be forgotten . . .
How is red white amd blue exclusionary? We’re all Americans no matter what rainbow color you associate with. This firm ought to be fired .
Wish I was going to be here for the 300th. But I would suggest a 14th star.
To me the rainbow is secondary. What’s most noticeable to me (and distracting from the rainbow design) is a face in profile, facing left, that looks like a man screaming. Can people see the open mouth and the little nostril? It reminds me of the (collapsed) Great Stone Face in New Hampshire. Was that the idea: an answer to The Great Stone Face? As in, “The Great Moan Face”? Yelling with frustration, horror, surprise….? It’s too bad Edvard Munch is dead; he REALLY knew how to draw screams.
Shameful ! So what’s the deal with the note saying ‘this report is to be held in strict confidence’. ? Does that mean they knew they were pulling some shady business and to keep it on the QT? I bet those who participated in the public survey won’t be thrilled their voices were shuttered. Thank you for digging into this story and reporting on it Please keep following it so we stay informed.
What’s wrong with using the Vermont Seal or flag? The piece of “art” they came up with is just more intellectual BS from the brain trust running this state into the ground. It’s ridiculous. My cousin said it looks like a fingerprint to her.
The Regressive finger prints are all over it. The words written on barns all across the state say it all, “Take Back Vermont”! This reminds me of the phrase, ” The beatings will stop when the morale improves”. How long will Vermonters accept the beatings from Montpelier? The misery is in full view and nothing will change until the voters TAKE BACK VERMONT from the regressive invasion and the domestic traitors who support and vote for them. This comment brought to you by a born and raised Vermonter, currently disgusted with the ruination of our customs, history, freedom, safety and sanity of this once great state.
Notice the ritualistic symbolism they embrace? A Nike swoosh (a visual representation of the Greek goddess of victory, Nike) Olympic rings of Greek origin. Vermont became a State in 1791, not 249 A.D. Why did I choose 249 AD? “Christians were persecuted in 250 AD under the Roman emperor Decius. He had issued an edict ordering everyone in the empire to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods and the well-being of the emperor.” Hence, no church steeples allowed?
No more Kings because they want rulers and emperors led by the anti-Christ gods such as Baal or Isis. Spoiler alert: the wicked do not inherit the earth. Yet, it doesn’t stop them from trying at the expense of all others.
They are mixing antient (old world spelling) religious rituals and symbols to conjure dark powers to control and dominate. What else is mixed into this mess is the freemasonary symbolism – the secret societies. They know not what they do – they only know what they are told to do, to believe, and get rewarded for doing so with money and favoritism. As old as recorded time itself – except these fools are playing around with things that lead to their destruction – guaranteed.
By all means, let them play their symbolic games and win the fatal prizes they bring forth upon their own heads. Let them reap what they sow. As we see all things woke turn to trash heaps – they own it. They should be told and shown each and every single moment that the spiral of destruction is of their doing and will be their undoing. The day of reckoning and judgment is closing in – I would not want to be in their shoes for any price or title.
Place Creative, owned by two of the biggest LIBS in Burlington. Oh, they’re wealthy and come from money as well as making big bucks in our Capitalistic Society. Oh the shame they must feel with all that money and all of the needs surrounding them in Burlington. How can they even charge the state for this abomination as we’re a state underwater financially? Like most libs, it’s all virtue signaling and no- practice what you preach. I’m exhausted of these hypocrites and all like them. Lots of lip service, lots of money, lots of “white privilege”, lots of high priced cars in the driveway, lots of opportunities for the kids….but no action to back up what they claim to believe in.
Like in ANIMAL FARM, remove one critically identifying symbol at a time. No church steeple, mountain, red-white-blue colors. (But make sure there is a subtle ‘rainbow’ in it.) My Vermont has been hijacked. Who are these dissidents and get them out of my Vermont.
I just don’t understand what was wrong with our state flag as it was. If 250 needs to be noted, add a 250 above the seal ! Done ! and nobody is left put or affended ! If it ain’t broke ………….
Native Vermonters are no longer in charge of our state. I am disappointed, embarrassed and crestfallen. It is incredible how my lifetime Democrat dad predicted this more than 50 years ago. People cannot wait to move to Vermont, only to make it like where they came from. Rather than becoming part of the community, why not make the community look like what “we” want.
The notion of excluding the national colors of red, white and blue because they are exclusionary is nauseating. Vermont, through our nation’s history, has played an important part due to our citizens patriotism and love of our country. From the earliest days of the Revolutionary War our citizens answered the call to service. They played an important part and actively participated in sheltering fleeing slaves through the Underground Railroad. We served in all the major conflicts and gave up our sons and daughters, husbands and wives to protect our country, political affiliation non-specific. This great state was founded and built on patriotism, hard work, love of God and our mountains, streams, rivers and forests. For us to exclude these images from this flag is sacrilegious. Vermonters have always been known to be frank, honest, finding pride in their hardwork and independence as well as being pragmatic and frugal in nature, none of which is represented on this flag and traits which seem to be waining all too often in our state. Time to stand up and let your voice be heard and time to bring Vermont back to its origins. Let’s start with the redesign of the 250th commemorative state flag. God bless our Green Mountain Stste.
Maybe some of these folks who believe in erasing our Vermont heritage should be deported to more appropriate countries.
When is Vermont going to wake up and start voting properly!
Indeed. The most Big Brother Digital ID Lockdown Surveillance state.
I emailed a local state rep during the plandemic, “Freedom and unity, or lockdowns and masks?” No response (from Mrowicki)…
250 years ago, our ancestors fought to gain their freedom. Our ancestors and our fathers, brothers and sisters and our children have also fought at least 7 other wars and conflicts through the years to retain this freedom. The sense of pride that we all had, knowing our families helped to make Vermont a good place to raise our families, is slowly diminishing.
This logo for the 250th anniversary such a travesty. It seems like this committee is trying to sell Vermont as a product. I’m sorry, but, Vermont is not for sale. Never was and never should be.
I will never recognize that horrendous logo as a celebratory symbol of Vermont.
“Freedom and unity” is passe’.
“Lockdowns and masks” is de rigeur.
Remember when a rainbow represented a beautiful sky and optimism instead of a broad category of deviant sexual behaviors? Remember when the word “gay” meant happy and carefree? Cute and clever the way some leftists try to incorporate that rainbow into every aspect of life now that it has a new meaning.
The Deep State are terrified of what is happening with Trump’s “no nonsense” administration, and are in their last ditch effort to take over where they can. Vermont is easy pickings since so many in the state have allowed it to be so, whether by the will of the people or fraudulent elections.
The left’s efforts for turning Vermont to a Marxist/Communist state will be short-lived. Help is on the way to remove corruption. In the meantime, keep praying and fighting for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for our beautiful state.
The committee’s guidelines could have been much simpler:
Make it fake and gay.
Just what about Vermont’s geography, farms, forests, and history is not inclusive?