Project Brief

The 311 Citizen Service campaign was developed to launch the New York City government’s 311 program, and to raise awareness of the services and information that residents can easily access by dialing 311.

NYC311’s mission is to provide the public with quick, easy access to all New York City government services and information while offering the best customer service.

Approach

To launch the brand, we wanted something simple, immediate, and visually memorable. We choose economy in all visual elements selected: a basic square, a primary color—yellow, and a bold black sans serif typography.

At the end, the logo became a poster, a billboard, a bumper sticker, and more: a direct communication through typography, shape, and color. In a graphically busy city landscape where everything competes for attention, our design choices — a basic color palette of yellow and black—have proven to achieve maximum visual impact.

Outcome

When people see DIAL 311, they know exactly what to do. This identity can be seen on top of taxis, on bumper stickers on city vehicles and cabs, on garbage cans, on telephone booths, in subways, on buses, on city websites, on electronic billboards and apps.

“NYC311 has revolutionized the way New Yorkers interact with City government and continually evolves to meet New Yorkers’ needs,”

—Cas Holloway, Deputy Mayor for Operations

The success of the NYC311 has set the standard for government information agencies across the US. NYC311 has served as a model for non-emergency government service delivery operations, hosting hundreds of delegations from dozens of countries and many major cities in the United States while they designed their own 311 operations. Most of the cities that have followed NYC311, have also followed the NYC311 branding.

Since launched, the program has been incredible successful. In 2016, 311 set new record with nearly 36 million interactions recorded.