Tulsa Global Alliance is a nonprofit with a mission to connect Tulsa to the world, but they faced a daunting branding challenge.
They needed nine unique logos symbolizing each of Tulsa’s sister city partnerships around the world, and those logos needed to pair seamlessly with Tulsa Global Alliance’s existing brand mark.
And that’s where we came in!
Our Approach: Diving Deep
At Aqua Vita Creative, we go deep. This was a complex project, and we wanted to make sure that we put in the research to do it justice.
Tulsa Global Alliance administrates partnerships between Tulsa and nine sister cities throughout the world, in France, China, Germany, Taiwan, Tanzania, Mexico, Israel, Japan, and Russia.
In the first stage of the process, we interviewed key members of the Tulsa Global Alliance leadership, followed by individual interviews with the sister city partnership chairs.
Interviewing the partnership chairs gave us insights into the cities that they represented, and helped us to be laser-focused in our research.
After our interviews were conducted, we did deep dives into each of the communities we were designing for. We studied their art, history, agriculture, wildlife, ecosystems, food culture, religions and economies, and anything else we could get our hands on.
As storytellers, it was incredibly important to us that we had a clear understanding of these communities that would show up in the brands we designed for them.
Design Time
Once the research was done, it was time to craft!
One of the things that sets us apart as a branding agency is that we begin all of our projects by drawing the concepts by hand.
We sketched multiple design directions based on the research and interviews that we conducted, and built presentations to explain the backstory behind each one.
Next, we met with each of the chairpersons again to present our directions and get their feedback on which marks they preferred and what resonated with them.
Finally, we built their preferred marks into polished logos that could be used on everything from apparel, to banner stands, and digital assets.
Once all of this was completed, we created a color palette that gave each brand its own distinctive color.
We placed each of these brand marks into a style guide, along with the Tulsa Global Alliance parent brand that unified them.
The Result
The end result was really stunning. It was like a collection of jewels, each shining with its own special radiance.
Since completing this project, our designs have traveled around the world!
They’re at Tulsa City Hall, on road signs around town, on t-shirts, hats, and countless other merchandise applications, and on banners at international events.
We are incredibly proud that our work has, in some small way, told the stories of these communities and helped to promote international understanding and fellowship.
What The Client Said About Our Work
“The Aqua Vita team genuinely cares about your organization and its success, and we’re incredibly thankful for their time, expertise, and attention to detail.
“All members of their team went above and beyond to ensure we were satisfied as we navigated a difficult design project.”
– Micah Keyan, Executive Director
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