The Michigan Bed and Breakfast Association is pleased to introduce a new logo designed to replace its long trusted, but aging, quality-assurance ribbon. The freshly-minted logo complements the association’s new website, as a quick trip to the home page attests.

While the logo is quite pleasing — fresh and contemporary and as tranquil as a bed and breakfast stay — the story behind our  crowdsourced new logo is what makes us remember we’re not in Kansas anymore.

The logo design was selected by the association from a field of 12 that made the cut in a competition hosted online by an  Australia-basedcompany called 99 Designs. The company contracts with artists who vie to win the client’s approval of their logo design. The artists create their unique designs from specifications submitted online by the client. The client critiques each submission online, then selects from among the best.

The artist who designed the MBBA logo is named Martina. We’ve never met her in person or even talked to her on the phone. We communicate by email. We don’t know where she maintains her studio. Is she tall, short, plump or thin? Martina is a mystery woman who, behind the screen of anonymity, made possible by the internet, created a little piece of magic for Michigan’s bed and breakfast industry.