City of Decatur Branding
This was a project to brand the city of Decatur, GA
Decatur, Georgia has a fairly solid sense of self. In the last few years, many condos and lofts have been built to house the growing population that has been drawn towards all that Decatur has to offer. The fine line is to draw in people, while retaining what draws them in the first place.
The goal with this rebrand will be to subtly tweak the current city personality to reflect where Decatur is headed, yet retain the positive qualities of what gives the City of Decatur its charm.
Some attributes that could be used to describe Decatur:
This was a project to brand the city of Decatur, GA
Decatur, Georgia has a fairly solid sense of self. In the last few years, many condos and lofts have been built to house the growing population that has been drawn towards all that Decatur has to offer. The fine line is to draw in people, while retaining what draws them in the first place.
The goal with this rebrand will be to subtly tweak the current city personality to reflect where Decatur is headed, yet retain the positive qualities of what gives the City of Decatur its charm.
Some attributes that could be used to describe Decatur:
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casual
warm inviting family-friendly |
pedestrian-friendly
sense of community distinct neighborhoods fun festivals |
good restaurants and bars
love of the arts love for their neighbors |
BRAND VALUES
- Welcoming
- Creative
- Independent
- Friendly
- Confident
- Humble
BRAND STATEMENT
"Independently progressing next to Atlanta, Decatur is a welcoming home to its diverse and creative inhabitants."
LOGO
Currently, Decatur's official motto is "A city of homes, schools and places of worship" and the logo displays a colorful grouping of a home, school, and church. With this logo, I wanted to step away from the literal interpretation of that motto to emphasize the connectedness that is felt within the community.
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BRAND PITCH BOOK
This book is designed to merely pitch the city's new brand, not necessarily to exhibit the identity systems that would come after this brand is approved and accepted by the city.
This book is designed to merely pitch the city's new brand, not necessarily to exhibit the identity systems that would come after this brand is approved and accepted by the city.
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Why cities are branded
(Excerpt from "The importance of Place Branding" by CEOs for Cities):
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A brand — clear, compelling and unique — is the foundation that helps to make a place desirable as a business location, visitor destination or a place to call home.
Development of a brand strategy for a city leverages the features of that place to provide a relevant and compelling promise to a target audience. It is not an ad campaign or a tagline. Rather, the branding strategy is a deeper, more emotionally shared vision that influences actions. There are many reasons why it is critical for a place to have a brand strategy, but the most common is to stimulate economic growth. That’s because a strong brand can:
Paris is romance, Milan is style, New York is energy, Washington is power, Tokyo is modernity, Lagos is corruption, Barcelona is culture, Rio is fun. These are the brands of cities, and they are inextricably tied to the histories and destinies of all these places. |