For this project, I chose to rebrand (and revamp) the City of Sparta with a simple, friendly, and unique logo. My goal was to unite all citizens under one cohesive logo that they can be proud of and also attract more visitors to the humble city.

 

It was only after extensive research that I decided to take on branding a city which is much more personal than any commercial product. It is mostly larger cities that receive some sort of rebranding and I have yet to stumble upon a small city rebranding project. Many new city brands were made of simple shapes and smooth lines so I knew I wanted those as well in my project. They also used lots of colors and I chose to use not very many colors to keep the brand even more simple and easy to distribute. In an effort to stay somewhat conservative as compared to those I had seen, I chose to limit my logo to one, easy-to-read orientation as to not cause confusion.

 

It was only after 30+ hours of brainstorming and sketching did I figure out which direction to go with this brand. Only after then was I able to find the right ideas that would fit with what Sparta should reflect: safe, friendly, and different from the rest. 

 

To convey the simplicity and friendliness of Sparta, I made the logo and any accompaning graphics have soft, round edges. I started out by creating a bicycle pictogram out of simple shapes and lines. From there the logo was born, emulating these simple shapes. To make the logo stand out and be different, I replaced the a's with triangles. Any accompaning pictogram or graphic henceforth included triangles, circles, or lines wherever applicable. I used sharp triangles in many pieces to compliment the soft and round edges.

 

I wanted to convey the four seasons in some way because of Wisconsin's ever-changing weather. I created pictograms and motifs to deliver this concept and used them throughout. 

 

I created an original functioning typeface for use throughout the designs. I started out by handwriting each letter with a Wacom Tablet and then transferring those images to a font creator. This typeface is known as 'ATRA' and is an all-caps sans serif typeface.

 

I focused on three different audiences in deciding upon collateral: (1) City Officials and Employess, (2) Citizens, and (3) Visitors. I created a 'City Employee Suite' which include designs for letterhead, envelopes, business cards, and a memo pad. The current City of Sparta website was not up to par and so I redesigned it to be easily navigated and understood. Citizens will now be able to use the website with ease to address their concerns and look up city policies. For the visitors, I designed a seasonal set of postcards for them to purchase while they are visiting.

 

Safe, Friendly, Unique

 

With a population of over 9,000, it is hard to decide who I wanted the brand to target. I knew I wanted to attract more people to Sparta but to also have the citizens of Sparta happy with it as well. The target audience is 25-40 year-olds in the upper working class to lower middle class. They have children, enjoy many outdoor activities, seek a sense of community, live in quiet neighborhoods, walk their pets often, engage in city politics, support local businesses, and go on elaborate adventures once in awhile. The look to settle down in a nice and quiet area that offers many outdoor pleasures.