InspirationJul 18, 2021

Hangar 18 designs a Wordmark representing Movement, Freedom and Mountains for Let's Ride BC

Written by Vida Jurcic RGD

Context

The challenge was to re-brand 'Let's Ride BC' to look youthful, fun, non-intimidating and to align the colour palette with the Destination BC colours since the logo would often appear with their communications.

The goal was to create something that would say "snowmobile" right away yet not look too extreme and inaccessible. It also needed to be flexible enough to adapt to other modes of "riding" in BC in the future and had to work regionally. The applications would mostly be digital so it had to have a certain amount of heft to sit solidly on photography.

Methodology

When starting this project, we had to think about what sort of approach we would take. Should it be abstract? Should it be representational? Symbolic? Iconic? It's probably one of the most challenging branding projects we've ever tackled. Normally, we would do a lot of sketches and thumbnails, but the more we scribbled, the more we fell into the trap of cliché retro mountain imagery. After looking at hundreds of fonts and not finding the right one, we realized that the best solution would be a truly custom wordmark that has the feel of the movement, freedom and mountains without being too representational. To communicate "snowmobile", the only solution was to incorporate one in a subtle, yet quickly recognizable way.

Design Detail

We have never designed a typeface with linear counters before. It was surprising to see how readable it is. We broke a lot of typographic rules on this one!

Result

This project is very fresh and although there are not a lot of applications yet, it was well-received when it made its debut on the BC Snowmobile Federation "Let'sRideBC" Facebook page. The wordmark is super-flexible in both horizontal and vertical formats and with the addition of regional names in the font "Toxigenesis", it will work well over multiple applications. We created an extensive Graphic Standards Guide to help with implementation, especially for video end screens and digital usage. It will easily adapt to summer riding sports i.e. mountain biking. We can't wait to see it embroidered on toques and backpacks!

Vida Jurcic RGD

Vida Jurcic RGD is a founding partner and Co-creative Director of Hangar 18 Design Continuum, an award-winning Vancouver design and branding firm with a legacy of strategic solutions spanning two decades. She has been an in-house art director/designer at the Hudson’s Bay Company and Woodwards Department Stores and has worked at various advertising agencies, including DDB and BBDO. She has judged many regional and national design competitions and sat on scholarship juries including the BC Arts Council. In addition, Vida currently teaches at the IDEA School of Design, Capilano University and has taught at Vancouver Film School and Langara in the past. She is an avid design history buff and part-time musician/Morris dancer.