McDonough Brand Guidelines

Brand Guidelines

Table of Contents

MANY HANDS - ONE HEART. We love seeing our small-town community gain new hearts and new opportunities. With any growth, a need to communicate these exciting changes will emerge. Before communicating our exciting news, please review our brand guidelines to learn more about our charming personality, good looks, and passion for our community.

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Our Story We come from a past rooted in Native American Heritage by the Creek Indian Nation. Our founding fathers established our historic community on December 21, 1821 and dedicated the city to our namesake, Commodore Thomas Macdonough.

Though small in size, our town was the leading commercial center for wagon trains and stagecoach lines, including the New York to New Orleans Stagecoach. We faced tragedies and triumphs as years passed by but our town remained centered around development and most importantly - community engagement. As we reflect on our past, we are reminded always to stay true to ourselves, treat others with respect, act with integrity, and be involved in the community.

Our Audience There are many hearts forming our amazing community and we welcome those who want to join. From locals to visitors, the McDonough branding initiative targets the newest (and youngest) of families to those built upon generations. We cater to younger adults and those who feel young at heart while focusing on those eager to create new opportunities, experience new adventures, and form lasting friendships throughout the community.

Our Personality McDonough, Georgia represents a tight-knit community expressed through the actions and characteristics of its community members. The tagline, “Community at Heart” alludes to both the mission statement and tone sample embodying a community-centric environment, with emphasis placed on citizens themselves. Community support and engagement serve as quintessential factors in producing the necessary family/friendly environments needed to attract visitors and future residences alike. But what makes McDonough stand out? Having a charming town to explore and call home, welcoming members inviting you to join our McDonough family, involved citizens wanting to promote change and continual growth, and a desirable environment for business establishment and visitor attraction are all prime examples for what makes McDonough unique. These branded characteristics (charming, desirable, involved, and welcoming) represent individualized personas but also embody the collective nature of this great community. And don’t forget, McDonough’s voice and tone evoke a warm and inviting nature, with a flare of southern hospitality and spunk, to ensure the brand maintains original, southern heritage.

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Brand Voice Chart CHARACTERISTIC

DESCRIPTION

DO

DON’T

Charming

We are the southern lifestyle.

Be authentic, Be causal, Be delightful.

Be fictitious, Be uptight, Be tiring.

Desirable

We continually seek new experiences and opportunities.

Be agreeable, Be innovative, Be appealing.

Be conceited, Be habitual, Be detracting.

Involved

We care about our community and you should too.

Be passionate, Be active, Be respectful.

Be indifferent, Be idle, Be negative,

Welcoming

We are all friends in the making.

Be friendly, Be accepting, Be considerate.

Be rude, Be judging, Be intrusive.

Top Community Values BE INCLUSIVE We are all friends in the making.

BE PROUD Share your enthusiasm for our city.

Mission Statment We honor the heritages and traditions unifying us as neighbors; giving us assurance we belong and are safe. We facilitate community conversations and foster an open dialogue that keeps our community moving forward. Together, we create a sustainable lifestyle that preserves our small town not for only today, but our future residents as well.

Tone Sample With community at heart and citizens in mind, McDonough will treat you right. We pride ourselves on our strong community engagement and welcoming personality. Our beautiful parks, outstanding attractions, and one-of-a-kind dining/shopping experiences offer an ideal environment to spend quality family time and catching up with friends.

City Differentiation Surrounding communities do not possess the robust selection of entertainment, shopping/ dining, and outdoor activites found in McDonough. The City of Locust Grove (South) is predominately known as a tourist destination and commuter way-through. The City of Stockbridge (North) is a larger community rooted in residential and commercialism, but lacks a small-town, centralized atmosphere with a downtown square and surrounding ecosystem.

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Design Elements Logos The logo design alludes to several meanings associated with the city of McDonough. The city prides itself on the nickname “The Geranium City” as expressed through the plethora of geranium flowers planted in the square and surrounding areas. This key identifier is portrayed by a line art drawing of a geranium flower with rounded corners and layered petals for additional depth and realistic interpretation. McDonough will forever be known for geraniums and this notion is solidified by the annual Geranium Festival held in the downtown square. This strong design piece will be integrated throughout all marketing collateral and transformed into tactile, promotional driven merchandise to drive brand retention, awareness, and favorability.

MULTICOLOR

SINGLE COLOR - GREY

The geranium icon is scaled to rest on the baseline and uppercase ascending line of the ‘D’ letterform.

The tagline’s baseline is set slightly above the lowercase descending line of the ‘g’ letterform.

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Don’t let looks deceive you - these three letterforms are set in uppercase!

DEPARTMENTAL LOGOS

community development

A generic logo is paired with a red geranium wrap to indicate official city use.

The identifying verbiage will correspond to the associated logo color and department/service it represents.

Typography is shown in all lowercase and kept within the predefined zone. This zone can be expanded to two lines as needed. Areas of use may include but are not limited to: • Auxiliary Services • Community Development • Education • Entertainment • Parks and Recreation • Public Safety • Public Works

SEPARATED LOGO The logo type is shown on creative with an enlarged geranium icon.

This is most commonly found on billboards and pole banners.

WITHOUT TAGLINE The logo type is used if tagline legibility is reduced or potentially altered. This example is produced as a vinyl decal. Note - vehicle decals will use solid white lettering instead of McDonough Blue.

.125” Perimeter White Space

MINIMUM SIZING .3687” 2.5” PAGE 7

Design Elements Typography Understanding the constructed brand voice and tone is pertinent to ensure associated typeface selections accurately represent the conveying message. The selected typefaces allude to the warm and inviting nature, of the city, while catering to the Southern lifestyle. A handwritten typeface establishes a personal connection, to the reader, and evokes a charming characteristic. The sub-header typeface displays a slight handwritten aesthetic and rounded edges to form a softer look and feel while complementing the body copy selection. The body copy typeface features a clean, condensed, sans serif styling evoking the desirable characteristics, of a growing brand and community.

24pt heading McDonough Green line 17pt Sub-heading 12pt tertiary heading 12pt body copy

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Client Research Empathy Map THINK & FEEL Think positively.

DESIGN GUIDELINES • This example displays the ideal hierarchy for typography.

• The use of a tertiary heading may be required for layouts with additional layers of information.

• The below outlines the sentence case use for each styling: › Primary and Sub-Headings - Title Case* *Tagline will be set in lowercase styling. › Tertiary headings - Uppercase (FranklinGothic Demi) › Body copy - Sentence case

Design Elements Color Palette

The curated color palette captures viewer’s attention through bold and vivid coloring. The four primary colors embody McDonough’s passion for citizens (red), service to our community (blue), respect for nature (green), and continual involvement throughout our small town (purple).

TONE % - 100|75|50|25

McDonough Red CMYK - 0|62.15|17.99|0 RBG - 294|130|155

McDonough Green CMYK - 34.73|0|22.18|0 RGB - 162|222|208

There will be categorical indicators derived from the proposed color palettes. Each indicator will be translated throughout various marketing collateral and communication. The four indicators will reflect the following: Red Official City Branding Green Parks and Recreation Blue Auxiliary Services (Fire, Police, Water, Schools) Purple Shopping, Dining, Entertainment

McDonough Blue CMYK - 46.09|.91|10.67|0 RGB - 129|207|224

McDonough Purple CMYK - 30.91|31.36|0|0 RGB - 174|168|211

DESIGN GUIDELINES • Geranium icons are restricted to 100% tonal variations.

• Pantone 430C will be used on body copy*. *Copy displayed on enlarged assets will use McDonough Grey.

• Tonal variations may be used on background elements, for added depth, and in select instances when displaying white text.

• Tonal variations may be used to create faux drop shadows with imagery and shapes, on limited occurances.

McDonough Grey CMYK - 62|46|36|7 RGB - 108|122|137

Aa Pantone 430C

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Design Elements Photography Imagery is heavily relied upon to capture the lifestyles and emotions of McDonough’s citizens. The use of curated imagery ensures all aspects, of the brand, showcase the charming, desirable, and welcoming nature of our community.

DESIGN GUIDELINES • Showcase photography expressing welcoming and charming appeal.

• Prioritize imagery based on citizens active lifestyles.

• Imagery not focused on citizens should highlight city features and benefits.

• Photography should showcase bright and vivid coloring.

• Imagery containing bokeh may be used as a background for promotional pieces.

CLUSTERING Clustering images should be carefully implemented into a design and only used if multiple pieces are being shown.

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES TO AVOID Photography ranks as one of the top hobbies in America. While there are countless resources available, please refrain from using the below stylings.

Duotones or black and white (grayscale) PAGE 10

Imagery without a dominant focal point.

Low (mood) lighting

Clipping masks are used to match the organic flow of the overlayed stroke.

Dominant imagery for publication layouts will bleed off 2-3 sides. The example shown above is used for an 8.5x11� page.

Shapes offer a playful and charming appeal when used in combination with photography. The McDonough brand identity will utilize rectangles, squares, and circles to highlight subtle moments. Smaller shapes showcase the entire outline and will be scaled down. Larger shapes will bleed off the page, in either a corner (circles) or side of the page (both).

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Design Assets Billboards Billboard designs will garner the attention of any audience through the use of impactful imagery conveying the involved, desirable, welcoming, and charming nature of the McDonough community. Billboards are effectively used to convey targeted messaging for surrounding communities and businesses based on location. Every billboard will visually communicate the small-town atmosphere and Southern hospitality portrayed through inviting color schemes and curated imagery featuring a blend of vivid colors and authentic, candid reactions, from all age-segments. Smaller billboards will be placed at entry points, of city limits, and strategically positioned in backroad, commuting areas.

DESIGN GUIDELINES • Highlight photography expressing welcoming and charming appeal.

• Select images with 2+ individuals in active positions.

• Anchor text to lower corners and use a curved border.

• Set image DPI to 300ppi for print and 72ppi for digital.

• Directional Text Color - McDonough Red. • For geranium icon placement: › Thinner designs will bleed on all 3 sides. › Thicker designs can set icon in one corner and bleed on 2 sides.

EN ROUTE TO CITY 1600 x 400px

Digital billboards are an emerging trend in commmunities due to quick turnaround times and instantaneous setup. These two specific designs will leverage McDonough’s latest advances in technology.

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INTERSTATE FURTHER AWAY 20’ x 60’

IN-TOWN (MCDONOUGH SQUARE) 400 x 840px In-town designs will showcase the smaller geranium icon as additional assets will utilize the larger icon.

INTERSTATE APPROACHING 16’ x 56’

CITY LIMITS 10’6” x 22’9”

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Design Assets Vehicle Wraps The City of McDonough will utilize minimal branding on all non-emergency vehicles, within the city’s fleet. The application of vinyl car wrapping will provide an additional medium, for brand identity transference, while making all associated vehicles recognizable throughout the community. This unique design application will display the city’s new brand identity and will increase brand recognition. The proposed designs exude McDonough’s charming appeal as displayed through the proposed color palette and expressive use of the geranium icon. The vehicle wraps feature two oversized geranium icons alluding to McDonough’s charming and desirable characteristics and playful nature while sparking interest to further explore and identify. The placement of each wrap is custom tailored to the aesthetic features of each vehicle model.

The identifying verbiage will correspond to the associated logo color and department/service it represents. Typography is shown in all lowercase and kept within the predefined zone. This zone can be expanded to two lines as needed.

COLOR VARIATONS

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community development

Design Assets Vinyl Decal COLOR VARIATONS

Custom vinyl stickers provide a tactile medium to engage with community members, visitors, and patrons. The vinyl decal is a direct adaptation of the official logo evoking the charming and welcoming characteristics, of the community.

Each color choice alludes to a generalized community sector and showcases the owner’s support proudly displayed on their personal assets. These decals offer clear representation of the communal value to “be proud” while sharing personal enthusiasm and passion for the city. The asset is visually identifiable as part of the overarching brand strategy and used as a focal point to generate and strengthen brand recognition and retention. Elevated designs and highquality material increase positive brand association as individuals see the attention to detail and quality of work put into this asset. This small yet impactful sticker will serve as an extension, of the McDonough brand identity, and will be applied to high-exposure items such as vehicles, laptops, phone cases, and notebook covers.

11” 3”

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Design Assets Exterior Wayfinding The exterior wayfinding design offers a modern twist to the proposed brand identity. The color scheme is chosen to alleviate legibility issues for community members viewing from a distance by offering contrasting font colors and larger font sizes. The wayfinding sign promotes a desirable and involved community through clean, organic shapes while individualized locations are called out, for a specific point-of-interest. The geranium icon is strategically placed within the darker material to emphasize the flower shape and maintain a strong connection, to the overall brand identity. The darker portion, of the sign, will feature LED lights to provide illumination to the location name and geranium icon, for those traveling at night. The implementation of a wayfinding system will alleviate resident and visitor challenges while exploring McDonough. This creative asset proposition will enhance the physical user experience and add cohesive branding to existing and future community locations and benefits.

COLOR VARIATONS

DESIGN GUIDELINES • Two line maximum for all text.

• Primary title must be in all caps.

• Location titles will display in title case format.

• Background color - 75|68|67|90 (CMYK) • Primary text color - solid white • Secondary text color - solid black 4’ 13.459”

8.66”

18.84”

4.6’

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13.459”

2.01”

Design Assets Pole Banners This outdoor medium provides a cost-efficient solution to promote the city, through seasonal and on-demand rotation. Designs will feature imagery with similar styling treatments, of other proposed assets, to maintain proper brand cohesion and unify all assets. The geranium icon is integrated into the design, with distinguishable coloring indicating the specified community classification.

The icon is differentiated, from other printed collateral, given the implied bleed at the bottom left corner, of the composition. The overall designs will focus on imagery content with emphasized height and associated appeal to capture viewer’s attention while walking or driving through the area.

DESIGN GUIDELINES • Match imagery theme with assigned color.

• Ensure image content reflects the surrounding environment.

• Generic text logo with tagline will be used across all banner designs.

• The arched line must match the icon fill color.

30”

COLOR VARIATONS

60”

ICON - 12.73” ARCH - 7.79” BASELINE - 1.79” ICON - 10.22” PAGE 17

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A great community of friends can help you through any obstacle. If you have any questions or need assistance with your designs, we’re here to help.

Timothy Davis Creative Director creative@mcdonoughga.com

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© 2019 MCDONOUGH, GEORGIA