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All Saints District

By: Sharona Brown

(Picture: All Saints District, map location)

The ultimate goal is to establish and/or elevate a positive perception of the chosen location in the minds of the community who inhabits, frequents, or could otherwise benefit from it. 

The problem faced by this brand was finding an area in town that could be established and positively elevated that wasn’t already popular amongst citizens who live here. Tallahassee isn’t a large city so therefore it was difficult in finding a district that is less popular with people but has such unseen value! In order to do so initial research was conducted on what districts are located within the city. An online search revealed Tallahassee has six districts; Govenor’s Walk, Capitol Hill, College Park, College Town, Cascades Park and last but not least All Saints. At this point, in order to solve the problem at hand the process of elimination began.  Being that Tallahassee houses two major colleges, it was safe to check College Park and College Town off the list of possible locations for brand identity. Having driven through both districts, both have always been heavily crowded with college students, so crowded that at times it can be difficult driving from one street light to the next! With newly renovations made to Cascades Park, this district has been deemed one of the most popular family-oriented areas in town. The beautiful scenery, water fountains, walking areas, playgrounds and the concert stage area draws in people like moths to a flame. Yes, Cascades Park, checked off the list. Moving on to Govenor’s Walk and Capitol Hill, both locations sit right next to each other, literally. One who chooses to visit each district can walk from one district into the next. Govenor’s Walk and Capitol Hill is located right in the central area of downtown Tallahassee. Each district houses a bunch of local shops and eateries that are popular amongst city workers and officials, not to mention this area is the central location for downtown festivities. Govenor’s Walk...check and Capitol Hill...check. This now left the All Saints District. Speaking from personal experience, the last time I visited the All Saints District was over 10 years ago and did not know that it still existed. To my surprise, this small district that sits off the main road, hidden from view and is like a secret area of true value! In visiting the district, I was in awe of the many art galleries, food trucks, restaurants, and to top it off a rock-climbing arena! I also learned that the district has weekly events with local bands and small festivals. The influential art can be found throughout the area with murals painted on the shops and sculptures located in the center of the district. How is this not a more popular area in the city? The only guesses are poor advertising or that the area is content with attracting smaller crowds. After learning about the All Saints District, this was in fact the perfect choice for creating a brand identity. Problem solved. 

(Picture: Above are various pictures of local buildings, art galleries and restaurants located within the All Saints district)

Let the research begin!  

To be successful in creating the brand identity for the All Saints District, further research was conducted on what is place branding and how is it done? (“The Place Brand Observer states that place branding is The process of discovering, creating, developing and realizing ideas and concepts for reconstructing place identities, their defining traits and ‘genius loci’, 2015”).. Research shows that there are 5 place branding principles the must be applied in order to brand a place, they are as follows: Distinctiveness, Authenticity, Memorable, Co-Creation and Place Making. Let’s go deeper into each principle and apply the All Saints District to them. 

Distinctiveness- What makes All Saints unique when compared it to other places, competitors? What are the core values of the place brand? What is the brand promise? The All Saints District is different from the rest because of its location and added features. It’s the only district that houses numerous local art galleries, cultural festivities (gallery hops) and let’s not forget the indoor rock- climbing arena all located in an off-the-beaten path Downtown setting. This is the only district that carries the artistry throughout the entire area. One can’t help but notice each mural painted on the surrounding buildings. The core values of the brand are staying true to what makes one happy. This eclectic district is happy to be called odd. The brand promises an unforgettable experience that will leave visitors wanting to come back and re-visit time and time again.  

Authenticity- By far the All Saints District is authentic. One can come to the area and not be bogged down by hassled shoppers and upset store workers. Each shop has happy owners who are always open to sharing the history of the area. Research shows that this is the only district with antique warehouses that are dated back as far as the 1950s. 

 

Memorable- How can one forget the All Saints District? Research reveals that this area is the only one that houses so many local art galleries, restaurants, beer pubs and festivities in which are held every Friday, all different from the other competing districts. How so? It boils down to the core values. This is the only district where one can come and be their natural, freaky, weird, awkward or odd self without judgment. Imagine taking a step back into the 70s era of hippies and free will...that sums up the All Saints District. All are welcomed and by the area being small, it provides a more close nit visiting experience. 

Co-Creation- All Saints has by far withstood the tests of time. Research shows, there have been numerous attempts made by government officials to build freight companies, hotels and other businesses over the area. “The City of Tallahassee has the option to sell the 300-space parking lot to a developer, who has plans to build a Hampton Inn in the space, or they could keep All Saints odd and disapprove the plans. Many citizens prefer the latter” (Kridle, 2015). Despite having the Hampton Inn built in the space, citizens have stuck together, fighting to keep whats remaining district untouched.  

Place Making- “Place branding is not about a good slogan, logo and nice promotional campaigns” In order to continue to have All Saints well loved by the community, a strategy needed to be formulated to keep the All Saints District around forever. In doing so, primary research was conducted by interviewing a handful of Tallahassee residents to obtain their opinions of the area. The interviews gave mixed results that are both positive and negative. One resident stated that the district is a nice area for families, and he often brings his daughter to the area to play on the playground. The only setback is the difficulty in finding a spot to park. Another resident stated that she used to live in an apartment next to the district and it was very expensive considering the location. One resident was completely unaware of the district. 

With this information, the next step required innovative thinking. How can the All Saints District overall top its many competitors in the city?  (“The Place Brand Observer Cited, for place branding to be successful, it needs to be understood as a strategic, holistic concept which goes beyond creating logos, slogans and marketing, 2015”). 

(Picture: Mood board created for the brand identity All Saints District)

A mood board was created to show how innovative is the All Saints District. Knowing and seeing how much this district has to offer, careful thinking went into how can a mood board be created that reflects the eccentric values of the district? This required going the area and taking actual pictures of the shops, art galleries and restaurants for others to see. There was no need in creating a flyer with limited working space that only provides visitors with a smidge of information. The mood board needed to be artsy, colorful, fun and engaging. The key qualities of the area. 10 pictures were taken of the area that best reflected the many attributes of the district. The pictures are of some of the art galleries, restaurants, street signs, the district’s local grocery store and of the Hampton hotel. One might ask, why take a picture of the hotel if it was built on top of a part of the district? Reason is, the hotel stands as a symbol of an attempt made in making the area completely industrial. It has value of the community sticking together to put a stop to the unnecessary renovations of the district. Only 5 out of the 10 images were added to the mood board because they revealed more insight into the district. The more colorful ones were made larger, while the less eye-catching images were sized down. Typography was added along with additional design effects of drop shadows and highlights added to both the images and the text. The mood board contains the brand’s color palette which consists of colors purple, blue, green, magenta and sky blue. Each color on the color palette were chosen because they each in essence associated with the cool, calm, fun and engaging voice and tone of the district. These cool and calm colors from the color palette were over laid on two of the images to give them each a relaxed yet colorful effect. The final outcome of the project revealed a colorful and engaging mood board that shows the All Saints District as a whole. With the creation of the mood board and the given background information of the district, this makes the brand innovative and different from its local competitors. As mentioned earlier, the All Saints District is known for being odd. It’s like the stepchild in the family that manages to get the silver slipper or achieve the riches. The district is its own identity and is one that will be around for years to come.  

References

5 Place Branding Principles. (2015, January 26).