I have a good friend who worked for many years in marketing and product placement/development. He and i were kicking around some ideas for brands built around a specific location. The idea is to build a following of locals and fans of the area. Creating a logo and product line that local residents would like to be identified with and by.
We live in Roane County, Tennessee.
I’ve started developing a line around the slogan, “There’s No Place Like Roane”. I put together the attached logo and would like some advice on it.
There are numerous things I don’t like about it, but I cant really “see” what they are, let alone what the solutions might be.
I’m not a graphic designer or marketer, so I wanted to reach out to y’all to get some input.
To my eye, there is a disconnect between the style of the illustration and the style of the type. That needs to be corrected before addressing any of the other things I could nitpick about.
The apostrophe jumped out at me too.
I’m also curious how the name relates to the business though. It seems more an advertisement for the town/county rather than a maker shop. And it’s a very long name. What might people shorten it to and still be talking about your business?
Mechanically, I’d say your search for the right font(s) isn’t over yet. If Roane is set with serifs and flourishes, a sans serif look might be better for There’s no place like. (And, I think sentence case would be more appropriate than title case.)
Also it’s important to consider recognizable relevance to the target audience. I don’t know what meaning the encircled 3-star grouping may hold. Does anyone? Is that an established Roane County thing? Is the target audience made up of Roane County residents who might react to such symbology, or is the goal to attract outsiders? Don’t just decorate; that’s not design. A brand should strike a chord.
Regional pride merchandise, for lack of a better term, is something you see. I’ve seen IG accounts for companies that sell merchandise with designs themed around my city. My wife and I were in Memphis for a funeral not too long ago and a coffee shop we went carried similar sort of merchandise. I think the target market is twofold: one being people from the area that want to show pride in where they live and the second being tourist looking to pick up a souvenir. So I am down with the idea, but the execution needs work.
Good morning, all!! Thanks so much for the insights!! Im very grateful!
@Steve_O , yeah when I sent this to my buddy, he mentioned the TriStar looking “kidsy”. I’m working on that. Thing is, in my mind, the TriStar should be different, unique. Right now, if you search “Tennessee TriStar” (@HotButton) you’ll find thousands of variations on the theme. I had wanted the Line to have its own unique version. I agree, however, this is not it. It’s just what I have so far and I honestly don’t know where to go from here.
@Eriskay I had to look up what “Kerning” means. Now I’m officially overwhelmed!! Hahahaha!!!
@PrintDriver the attached logo isn’t for my business. It is intended as a Line of “Regional Pride Merchandise” for locals and tourists like Steve_O said. We Tennesseans are very proud of our state, county, and town and there’s a market for those things. Our area code is 865 and a company has built a very successful line by adding the word “life” after it. Their website is all that dot com. You can get an idea of what we are after there. We don’t want to copy them, but certainly want to join them.
Finally, I absolutely LOVE thsis statement…
THIS is what I’m chasing after. This is why I’m reaching out to y’all for help in getting this thing perfected.
I love everything you’ve said so far. I feel like I have learned a few reasons why this one is not right. Searching out what IS right seems a bit overwhelming, but we’ll get there. I’ll work something up and get back to you.
This is exactly what I was talking about. There is a very similar line of merchandise for my area code, and this is similar to what I saw in Memphis. I’ve seen others, too.
