The City of Vancouver is holding off on the roll-out of a new logo approved in council last week after much criticism from the public and the local graphic design community.

Mayor Gregor Robertson said he's asked the city manager not to put the wordmark on any permanent assets while the city meets with the design community and tries to make further improvements.

The mayor said the decision was made after discussing with several councillors the concerns brought forward by Vancouver graphic designers.

In the days before and after the logo's approval, many members of the local design community spoke out in favour of the city's selection, but others published an open letter criticizing the municipal government's decision.

"Design is something that keeps changing over time, and rather than fixing something – we just had this last one for over a decade without change – I think we need to be sure we nail this one… and make sure we're doing our best to represent Vancouver," he told CTV News.

Robertson said he takes the concerns of the design community seriously, and that a "new wordmark reflects on the city's brand and image, and speaks to who we are."

He said he knows not everyone will be happy with the decision the city ultimately makes, but that the decision made last week was worth revisiting because it drew an unexpected amount of outcry from a significant number of professionals. Many designers said they wanted to be involved in the process.

"I think it's worth exploring that. We have to have a better logo and wordmark out there. The one we've used just doesn't work in digital application, which is where most people see the city's logo now," he said.

But they want to move quickly, rolling it out in the next couple of months. Once a design is chosen that will make as many people as possible happy, the city will start adding the logo to more permanent assets, like vehicles and buildings.

Although much of the criticism of the design that cost the city $8,000 to create came from the public, the mayor said the critics have been heard but consultations will only be with members of the design community.

While the roll-out of the new logo on some city assets has been put on hold, staff members are already using it on brochures and business cards being handed out in city buildings and through the mail.

Robertson said staff have been using it "for some time," even before its use was approved, because the old logo "basically wouldn't show up in some applications."

He said there was a bit of a transition period, then city staff decided they needed to get formal approval from council before using it in any more permanent ways.

With a report from CTV Vancouver's Sarah MacDonald