Heraklion
City Branding
Heraklion, the capital of Crete, is a vibrant city steeped in history, boasting ancient ruins and bustling streets adorned with lively markets, charming cafes, and a captivating mix of Venetian and Ottoman architectural influences. In this personal project I wanted to harness the spirited culture of this lovely city by the sea.
Challenge: Formulate a branding package including a word mark, letter mark, and iconography that can be easily implemented across a city.
Sketches
Initial Thoughts
In my wordmark sketches, I wanted to incorporate various facets of Heraklion's rich history, such as the legendary tale of the minotaur, its status as a Mediterranean port city, and its culinary tradition focused on seafood.
Lettermark
For my lettermark sketches I included similar elements to the wordmarks but also took inspiration from all of the stone steps within the city, as well as flags that are representative of the boats docked every day in the city’s port.
Wayfinding
For these two sets of icon sketches I wanted to indicate clear and simple notions for what they represented. The set to the left are all derived from the letter “H” and the set on the right reflect common architecture within the city.
Digital Drafts
Color & Icon Refinement
For my wordmark and lettermark designs, I opted to center them around the concept of fish. I found that the playful nature of the letterforms complemented the essence of Heraklion, evoking the image of a fish leaping in water. This choice inspired me to select blue and orange tones to symbolize the fish in it’s aquatic environment.
Final Design
Reflection
This project provided me with the opportunity to venture into new design territories, such as crafting a website page mockup and developing assets for city wayfinding signage. I enjoyed immersing myself in the diverse array of promotional materials integral to city branding, which underscored the extensive effort involved in marketing and signage strategies. In the future I’d love to rework the wayfinding icons to an even simpler design to integrate smoothly into a variety of applications.