Apple, Microsoft, McDonald’s, Pepsi – these are all successful brands that we know and recognize – but the state of Colorado as a brand?

In an innovative effort to boost tourism, attract new business and give Colorado a recognizable identity distinct from its neighboring states, Colorado’s governor John Hickenlooper launched a competition to design and develop a branding concept that could be used on official documents, tourism websites and by local businesses.

Inspiration

The Colorado state government was keen that the final design chosen to represent the state should be sourced from as wide a cross-section of the local community as possible. So, rather than hiring a design agency to do all the work, Colorado launched the website www.makingcolorado.gov and the Twitter account @makingcolorado, and took tips from the crowdsourcing movement to gather ideas and inspiration from at least 1 million local Colorado residents.

The aim was to create a brand ‘for Colorado, by Coloradans’. To this end, locals were asked submit words and phrases, tweets and photographs that described or depicted what Colorado, and what being a Coloradan, means to them. This data was then collated and shared back to the community to help generate inspiration for a branding design.

Design

Phase Two of the process asked the people of Colorado to come up with a logo design that described Colorado, using the elements suggested by residents as inspiration. From the many entries sent in, a shortlist of just three entries has now been made.

Phase Two of the process asked the people of Colorado to come up with a logo design that described Colorado, using the elements suggested by residents as inspiration. From the many entries sent in, a shortlist of just three entries has now been made.

• Evan Hecox’s triangular mountain-inspired design • Justin Fuller’s take on the rectangular shape of the state outline • Todd Berger’s stylistic approach to the Colorado postal abbreviation.

You can read more detailed notes on Berger’s design on his website here.

Slogan

Coloradans were also encouraged to submit suggestions for a slogan to go with the new logo. Among suggestions such as “Majestic above all”,“Reach a higher state”, and “Peaks above the rest”, the two slogans up for consideration are “Rise”, and “Ever upward”. It’s clear that the people of Colorado have both a real connection with the beautiful terrain of the Rocky mountains and aspirations of greatness for their state!

The final phase

The winner of the Colorado logo design competition will be announced on August 29 – which is your favourite?

About the Author:

Although her primary niche is in scientific writing and editing, freelance writer Lisa Martin is also a creative type with an eye for design. She regularly works alongside graphic designers and as such has a keen interest in the development of logos and branding.