Designer Eric Cheung Kai-wa, who led the team that created the original flying dragon logo 10 years ago, said it was difficult to find the city's character in the new logo.

'I'm shocked by the changes made to the original design,' Cheung said. 'The additional elements create confusion. From a distance, you can see only ribbons, not the dragon. And the 'East meets West' element is lost.'

Cheung said the 'East meets West' element was embodied in the old design since parts of the dragon formed the Chinese character for Hong and the English initials for Hong Kong. But he said the element was lost in the new design with the Chinese character missing.

There's another change, too. Hong Kong's core values will henceforth be these: free, enterprising, excellence, innovative and quality living. That's compared to the previous values adopted in 2004: stable, free, progressive, high quality and opportunity. Asked why democracy was left out of the 'updated core values', Tsang said: 'Democracy is in our hearts.'

The brand review began in May 2008 and ended in April. It involved surveys, workshops, creative contests and consultation sessions to gauge the public's perceptions of the city.

In one of the surveys, people were asked to pick one of at least 56 pictures which they considered 'most representative of my ideal Hong Kong in 2020' and give their reasons for the choice. They included a nest of three golden eggs, a row of coloured pencils, a dashing leopard, footprints on a beach and an open door.

'Brand Hong Kong is the city brand of Hong Kong people and what they think about their own city is of prime importance,' Tsang said.

The 'Asia's World City' slogan would remain unchanged after the surveys 'revealed general support for Hong Kong to position itself as Asia's world city', he said.

The Sunday Morning Post reported in September 2008 that the review was being carried out by civil servant Mary Leung Lai Yim-ming and branding consultant Rachel Chan.

The government last December invited designers to create a new logo while preserving the essence of the original dragon.

'The feedback from the review shows general backing for the dragon,' Tsang said. 'Members of the tourism sector are strong advocates on this point.'

Brand Hong Kong was launched in 2001 to promote the city after the East Asian financial crisis. The design of the old flying dragon logo took 11 months and cost HK$9 million, including research expenses.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen proposed the review in his policy address in October 2007.

By September 2008, the Information Services Department had spent HK$1.3 million hiring multinational communications company Fleishman-Hillard to interview residents about how they believe the city should be branded.

Asked how much the review had cost, the financial secretary yesterday said he did not have the amount to hand.

The Information Services Department would not give the project's cost either. It said only that the design contract with Chan's agency was worth HK$1.4 million.

'The contract sum of about HK$1.4 million with his design agency covers more than a logo design,' a government spokesman said yesterday. 'It includes a whole range of designs relevant to brand implementation.'

The spokesman said the public should not just focus on the brand logo. 'Other brand elements - core values, attributes positioning and platform - are equally, if not more, important,' he said.

The government yesterday also unveiled a promotional video featuring actor Chow Yun-fat, pianist Li Yundi, business leaders Philip Chen Nan-lok and Allan Zeman and soccer player Chan Siu-ki.

Spirit of the place

For HK$1.4 million, Hong Kong has an updated dragon logo

The original logo took 11 months to design and cost, in Hong Kong dollars: $9m