San Juan Bautista’s New Brand Identity
Building a brand for the history books.
By Cheryl LovejoyArt takes work. Ideas take time. Successful design follows a plan.
When we set out to rebuild the city of San Juan Bautista’s brand identity, our minds were focused. The new brand had to be modern, but not trendy. Classic, but not old fashioned. Memorable, and sticky.
Uncovering the heart of San Juan Bautista was our first step. As with any city, people are at the heart of the brand. We’ve worked in SJB for more than a decade, but we knew our knowledge of the city was just a slice of the points of view available. So we got to work.
We set up open forums at the SJB Town Hall and several online surveys, allowing locals to explain what this town means to them, what they love about it, and how that might translate into a distinctive design. After hours of interpreting the responses, we identified the town’s brand values and developed a brand brief with a unique positioning statement.
Then the design work began.
Our first trip for inspiration was to the city’s core – Old Mission San Juan Bautista, one of the 21 original California missions. Between the historic paintings and the classical Spanish architecture, our branding ideas were gaining momentum. After narrowing down the design to a handful of strong choices, we presented them to the SJB branding committee. The committee deliberated, discussed and ultimately reached a unanimous decision. The new logo and tagline is respectful of the town’s history, but encourages a new age of tourism.
Successful design follows a process; a beautiful, structured, collaborative process. In this case, it all boiled down to two groups allowing each other to do what they do best. We were fortunate to work with a helpful and understanding group of people who trusted us as the experts to deliver a new logo, tagline and graphics that represents San Juan Bautista well. We’re proud to be a local San Juan Bautista business and to have completed this project for our home town.
If you could use some assistance with refreshing your brand or spicing up your marketing materials, Schipper is ready to help! Email us to set up a free consultation for your project needs.