Photo by Taylor Heery on Unsplash
Rappahannock County Branding
Rappahannock County had no tourism branding so The Businesses of Rappahannock approached us to help them identify and solve their problems around attracting visitors and then create branding to represent the county.
Service
Branding Strategy, Identity, Website & Print
Client
Businesses of Rappahannock
Year
2021
BACKGROUND
Rappahannock County was often confused with the Northern Neck area of the state where the Rappahannock River meets the Chesapeake Bay. Those that did know where the county is located usually thought of it as a gateway to the Shenandoah National Park. Unaware of all that the county has to offer, people were used to driving right through it on their way to other destinations.
DESIGN THINKING
We wanted to incorporate the quaint towns, the mountain views, and expansive night skies into the new logo—a tall order. As you head to the county on scenic route 211 there is a feeling you get when you crest the hill and take in the view before you—all your worries and stress just melt away as you breath deeply. We wanted to capture that feeling with the new branding.
VISUAL INFLUENCES
Being a gateway to Shenandoah National Park, and being a county full of scenic vistas, we took cues from National Park posters. We focused on a simple illustration style and color palette and clean modern fonts that were then customized to better represent the area.
CHALLENGES
We had a lot to wrap into a visual identity and tagline and we wanted to create a logo that was extendable—because a tourism brand needs to be flexible. We also wanted to create revenue producing promotional items to further the reach of the new branding and bring additional income to the county and its businesses.
Something unique to the county is it's designation as an International Dark Sky Park, the first in Virginia. We also created branding around the designation for that distinction that still ties in to the main identity.
Website Design
Like the identity we designed, we wanted a website that could also expand over time. We included a complete listing of businesses, an event calendar, and pre-planned and themed itineraries to show visitors just how much there is to do in the county.
