North Coast Food Trail

Brand Design + Launch

Job one was to create an identity that communicated the ideas of “food” and “travel” while reflecting the rugged personality of the region. (The backpack foreshadows the idea that visitors may have to invest some effort to reap the Trail’s rewards.) Our work included concepts for ancillary art that illustrated the tagline “Food, Farm, Fish, Forage.” We created an animated brand video for use in conjunction with the launch to both announce the concept and highlight the component experiences. These were designed with the ability to deploy individually via social media.

We supported the launch of the initiative both by managing the design and production of collateral but also working with the client and participants to make sure information was accurate, and to help when fixes were needed.

Including Stakeholders and Participants

As part of our brand identity design process, we presented creative options to the NCFT team and helped them consider the opportunities and risks associated with each direction. We also introduced the chosen logo, along with website and collateral prototypes, to a larger group of stakeholders and participants, supporting early involvement and support.

The Website: a Handy Field Guide

We worked with the client to distill their vision for the NCFT website: making it easy for users—to find the sorts of experiences they want to have, to plan a trip around them, and to get connected to the participant locations. We installed and customized a map feature that geolocates the visitor and displays nearby points of interest, and allows them to filter destinations by category. We also prioritized mobile usability and speed, knowing that many users would be viewing the site “on the trail.”

Additional Creative Support

The NCFT team relied on us to deliver other creative services such as print collateral, advertising, and campaigns for Facebook and Instagram—making it easy for them to keep the style and messaging consistent across mediums.

Consulting

Beyond the production of design assets, the client looked to us for big-picture strategic direction. This partnership allowed them to focus on critical tasks such as creating and organizing new tourism initiatives—not micromanaging vendors.