Ouray, Colorado
This Colorado mountain town required a compelling and distinctive brand identity to attract tourists effectively.
ROLE
Brand Identity
YEAR
Ongoing
PROGRAMS
Illustrator, Photoshop, Figma, Rhino7, CADtools
TEAM
Tangram Design
Introduction and Research
The town of Ouray commissioned our agency to develop a modern brand identity and wayfinding system. The city council sought to update their logo- aiming for a contemporary and memorable design to encourage tourism and elevate their identity among other western slope mountain towns.
My team researched heavily into Ouray, including the culture of the town, the hopeful future for development, and their chosen typography style in order to develop a focus for vision.
Iterative Development
We employed initial sketching and refined concepts in Illustrator to design and enhance the marks, continually iterated with input from our creative director for a stronger, more cohesive connection with Ouray.
Typography & Color Palette
The city council requested that the type and logo be versatile for standalone use when necessary. In the initial meeting, Ouray expressed a desire for a modern typeface with a touch of the old cowboy block type aesthetic.
Additionally, we selected colors inspired by the town's outdoor surroundings, creating a connection with both the local residents and tourists.
For the logotype we employed a contemporary slab serif that had the block-type cowboy font the client wanted. They asked for a logotype that would be able to stand on it’s own and have the same level of recognition as the mark.
Chosen Mark
Combination Mark and Typeface
Color Palette
Secondary Typeface
Stationery
We crafted two distinct stationery sets for both the city department and the tourism department.
Destination Badges
Ouray, Colorado has many areas for tourists to go and enjoy the outdoors in this small town. Because of this, the client needed additional unique marks for each of their destination locations.
Reflection
Building a brand identity for a small town can be challenging as there were many unique voices and opinions in the council. We incorporated all their input into the mark and subsequent supporting design elements to help this city step into a more modern identity that will stand timeless for years to come.