Malta’s national agency for museums and conservation paid over €120,000 to rebrand its identity, which included a change in logo bearing striking similarities to one already in use by a US museum.

The Heritage Malta logo was officially launched on Friday during a lavish ceremony complete with performers at Fort St Elmo.

It comes at a time when the finance ministry is planning to cut spending across government as part of its plan to bring down the deficit.

The new logo has similarites to that of the Hunter Museum of American Arts in Tennessee, which have had the design for more than a decade.

Design company BRND WGN was awarded a government tender of €121,942 for the rebrand, according to a 2020 Government Gazette notice. The cost of the logo rebrand was €26,000. 

The tender was for the “Development of a Rebranding Strategy, Brand Manual, UX/UI Interface Design, Marketing Strategy Complete with Deliverables for Heritage Malta.”

It was awarded the tender on February 4, 2020. 

The Government Gazette listing shows the awarding of the tender.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Heritage Malta denied that the logo had been inspired by the American museum.

'Pure, unlucky coincidence'

A Heritage Malta spokesperson said the agency took a conscious decision to launch its new logo, even though it knew a week before the launch that it bore similarities to the US logo.

He said there had been no copyright infringement, and that the similarities were "pure, unlucky coincidence."

The launch ceremony at Fort St Elmo.

BRND WGN CEO and founder Peter Grech said the logo was tested and extensive searches were done through the European Union Intellectual Property Office search portal to ensure its originality and significant clearance within the EU jurisdiction. 

The similarity to the logo of the Hunter Museum of American Arts went unnoticed because this is not an EU-registered trademark. 

In a statement, HM said the concept behind the slogan is a reminder that Maltese history is deeply rooted within the people of Malta including those who decided to make Malta their home. 

An empty space in the centre of the logo forms the letter 'H' for Heritage. This lies between two mirrored 'M's for Malta, created by three parallel brush strokes using the tberfil style.

The Heritage Malta logo, bottom left, and other similar logos.

The top M symbolises the historic sites on land, while the lower one represents the underwater heritage and heritage that is yet undiscovered.

Since the logo was revealed, people on social media have highlighted others that have similar designs.