Valdosta’s current branding does not show the strong bonds between the local and military communities. The city has an immense amount of pride in the military and its history.

            During the branding process of Valdosta, there were many steps taken to make a logo that connects the city with what it represents. Steps such as, exploring the area in person, interviewing residents, research, and sketching. The research conducted for this project was extensive and required some exploration. Three areas of Valdosta were documented: Downtown, Valdosta State University, and Moody Air Force Base. Sketches are essential to putting ideas down in order to use and modify to present the right logo for the Valdosta brand. Sean Hodge says, “this makes sure that before massive amounts of time are invested in refining a solution, a direction is first agreed upon with the client” (2008, para. 3). Loose sketches are the first initial presentation to get a gage on the direction the client wants to move. The logo design that was decided upon was the one that showed a story what is important to Valdosta, pride in the community and their military neighbors. The design uses the first letter (V) of the city as the center piece. One either side of the letter there are wings that are to represent the wings similar to the Flying Tigers symbol. The Flying Tigers are a strong presence in the Valdosta community that not only play a part in Valdosta’s community, but the Air Force’s as well.  In the center of the “V” is a silhouette of Valdosta’s courthouse. The court house is the center point of downtown, which serves as the heart of the local community. 

            The current brand in Valdosta is more focused on the Azalea City aspect of the city. While interviewing locals during the research phase of the rebrand project, I asked if they knew why Azaleas were so important to Valdosta. None of those interviewed were able to answer without Google, but all had something to say about their pride in the military. This is the driving force behind the rebranding direction. 

Reference

Hodge, S. (2008, April 19). The Role of Sketching in the Design Process. Retrieved from         https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/the-role-of-sketching-in-the-design-process--psd-153