Britain paid £500 thousand to move the dot on the logo of the Gov.UK website

The government website Gov.UK helps UK citizens fill out tax returns and receive other useful services. Its rebranding angered the public.

The government made a deal to brand renewal with the advertising agency M&C Saatchi. The total value of the contracts is £532 thousand. In practice, users can notice a change in the background of the logo and some elements of the site from black to blue, as well as a change in the color and location of the dot in the logo.

As reported by Daily Mail, the changes have already caused a wave of criticism, in particular among civil servants themselves on the forums they use. The update has been called «cheap», «tasteless» and even «absolutely diabolical», given its cost.

• «Did someone really get paid to move the point?»
• «Why did we decide to spend time and resources on this?»
• «Reformist blue for the point. Conservative blue for the background. Are they preparing us for 2029?» [a hint of the color of one of the radical parties]

As expected, the design change was criticized by the government’s opponents. Zia Yusuf, one of the leaders of the right-wing Reform UK party, considers it disrespectful to taxpayers’ money.

According to the publicly available documents, two contracts for the brand refresh were signed by the previous Conservative government and extended under Labor. M&C Saatchi signed deals worth up to £750 thousand, a government source told the publication that the final bill was £532 thousand, and the costs were covered from existing departmental budgets.

Officials justify the six-figure bill included «refreshing and expanding the» Gov.UK brand across the web, mobile and other platforms. A government spokesman said:

Last year, the website logo was also changed. The Tudor and King Charles crowns replaced the St. Edward’s crown used by Queen Elizabeth II.