Making Colorado, the new branding initiative for the state of Colorado, on Wednesday gave the first glimpses of logos and slogans that could eventually adorn the likes of state troopers' vehicles, license plates, websites and letterhead.
Making Colorado quietly unveiled the designs and phrases that resulted from a 12-person creative team's eight-week effort that was supplemented by assessment from marketing and branding experts from across the globe.
Several members of Boulder's business and creative communities -- including former advertising executive Alex Bogusky -- are playing significant roles in the Making Colorado campaign.
In a message sent Wednesday to people who signed up to receive e-mail alerts about the campaign, Making Colorado officials displayed three logos and directed residents to MakingColorado.gov to provide input on the preliminary designs and slogans.
Each of the three logos contain either the abbreviation "CO" or the Colorado name. The logos themselves range from a triangle doubling as a mountain peak, the word Colorado with a rectangle set off like an exponent and a green and red "CO" under a horizontal bar.
The slogans unveiled Wednesday -- "rise" and "ever upward" -- are two of six phrases that will be revealed during the coming days on MakingColorado.gov.
The designs remain a work in progress.
"...These concepts are not final and may not be selected at the culmination of the Making Colorado process," the initiative's representatives said in the e-mail. "They are being shared to help Making Colorado gather feedback from residents. So, please, share your thoughts and help shape the future of Colorado."
In
the coming weeks, officials will take the input received via the Making Colorado website and tweak, tailor and possibly overhaul the branding concepts, said Aaron Kennedy, Colorado's chief marketing officer and head of the Making Colorado effort.
That work already is underway, Kennedy said, describing a meeting where officials analyzed 300 different iterations of the mountain peak design.
"Even just the subtle change in color can have a remarkably powerful impact," he said.
Kennedy used Coca-Cola as an example: Imagine if Coke's iconic red color had a greater tinge of orange or pink.
"The same is true with these concepts," he said.
The three concepts eventually will be narrowed to one choice. From there,
there might be several hundred different takes before the final product is presented to the Innovation Network Summit on Aug. 29.
"It's going to be dynamic," Kennedy said.
The Making Colorado activities could yield elements of a logo, symbol or watermark, as well as a supporting typeface, color palette and a tagline. The brand could be integrated into the more than two dozen state departments, potentially land on license plates and be incorporated into tourism efforts.
The brand style guide will stipulate the look and feel of every creative element that is produced for the state of Colorado and provide a consistent look to the branding of its 22 agencies, Kennedy said.
As a result, he added, Making Colorado could streamline some government processes because state agencies and departments would not have to labor over the creation, development and implementation of their brands and logos. Additionally, having a clear brand could boost trade, tourism and economic development, he added.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper launched the branding initiative earlier this year.
The $1 million effort is privately funded.
Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at 303-473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.
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