This morning the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau, launched its new brand for visitRaleigh. The new logo is designed to represent the geographic area our city occupies. The squares represent both attributes of the area, like growth, digital culture, and access to the environment as well as the 12 municipalities within Wake County. The star, of course, represents the capital at the heart of the city.
The presentation given described the Key Attributes of Raleigh as:
Dynamic- Raleigh’s growth is fueling an urban revival that’s attracting new hospitality, entertainment, sport, cultural amenities and events.
Unexpected The depth, breadth and evolving qulaity of Raleigh’s offerings server up great surprises for visitors and encourage return trips.
Smart Raleigh’s location in the heart of renownef research and academic communities gives it the opportunity to be innovative in its packaging and communications.
Celebratory As a State Capital, Raleigh’s environment is lively, uniquely welcoming and friendly for all - a center of civic and cultural festivities.
The Visitors Bureau reached out for community feedback in creating the brand and also worked with the following companies:
Cundari: of Toronto was the primary branding agency (logo development, website design, destination attributes, brand promise)
Longwoods International: of Toronto worked with Cundari to conduct quantitative and qualitative research (more than 500 traveler interviews and 130 + group and individual interviews from community partners)
OddFellows: Triangle agency (ad creative, tradeshow booth design and business collateral)
The Greater Raleigh logo design, called Pulse, expresses the following:
- The color palette is a series of squares of varying shades, green representing the beautiful, green environment, with yellow-green representing new growth; red for the strength and vitality of the capital city; blue and purple representing lakes and the beautiful Carolina sky; and purple for elegance and sophistication.
- The palette spreads from purple to yellow-green, from left to right, also signifying growth and progress. The green squares surround the red center square, representing a “city in a park” concept.
- The grided squares are symbolic of several of the area’s attributes: pixels representing Greater Raleigh’s relationship to Research Triangle Park, the large number of patents from area companies, the large number of professionals with college degrees in the area, the new, $1-million shimmer wall of the Raleigh Convention Center, a forward look to the future (through digital media), and smart city/county growth planning through highly organized but organic components.
- There are 12 squares in the logo, representing each of the 12 municipalities within Wake County.
- The center star represents the State Capital. It is nonsymmetrical to add contrast and interest to the symmetrical, rounded-corner, grided squares and to express the handmade, imaginative quality of the visual and performing arts in Raleigh.
- The word “visit” is italic to show activity and to communicate the word as a verb and call-to-action.
- The font for the word “Raleigh” is from a classic typeface that is legible, friendly and elegant in its simplicity and graceful curves.
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