A city’s identity is much more than its name on a map – it’s a story, a vision, a sense of place, and for many, it’s a representation of home. Nothing reflects this message more perfectly than Grove City’s new look.
“Grove City over the last 10-15 years has had phenomenal, positive growth and improvements,” Grove City’s Community & Business Relations Officer Don Walters says. “It’s time now, we felt, to come up with a brand that clearly reflects (that).”
To do so, the City worked hand-in-hand with design firm, Guide Studio, to update the City’s look without leaving behind traditional aspects synonymous with the culture residents love and take pride in the most.
“It’s not about creating a new image,” Guide Studio President Cathy Fromet says. “It’s about uncovering what people value and reminding them of those things.”
Vision and voice
Heading into the design process last May, Grove City had several goals in mind, one of which was strengthening its communication tools.
“You want to have a very common look, feel and message that you reinforce with the community,” Walters says. “And we want that message to always be the same. It’s a message that says Grove City has a small town, friendly charm.”
Another goal, was to ensure that branding efforts were centered around Grove City’s beloved heritage.
“How we present our City is extremely important, and that’s honed by what our culture is,” Mayor Richard L. “Ike” Stage says. “I see culture and branding as hand and glove as we move through this process.”
Equally as essential to the process were the thoughts and feelings of its residents.
“It wasn’t just the City’s ideas,” Fromet says. “The inspiration came from the people of the community.”
According to Amanda DeCastro, a community relations specialist for Grove City, the entire process was guided by a steering committee, which consisted of members of City Council, South-Western City School District, the Heart of Grove City, Grove City Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Southwest Franklin County Historical Society and a handful of other community stakeholders.
The City and Guide Studio also sent out a series of online surveys and held multiple focus group workshops to gain further community input.
During those workshops, participants were tasked with choosing words to describe Grove City’s personality. The words that rose to the top were: friendly, growing, embracing, inclusive, traditional, vibrant and charming. Using those words, several mood boards – or conceptual collages – were then created to narrow down design options for the steering committee.
Participants also emphasized their love for some of Grove City’s unique and traditional emblems, such as the tree widely recognized from the City’s official seal, as well as its iconic downtown lamp posts, objects that were included in the update.
“Research showed us that the small-town charm is there, and that’s something people love and really cling onto,” DeCastro says. “So that was important that aspect was represented in the new branding.”
"The logo doesn't shout at you, it invites you." - Mayor Richard L. "Ike" Stage
City of Grove City
When it came to picking a new color palette, Guide Studio drew inspiration from the personality words chosen by participants, as well as from multiple locations around the City – including brick and wrought iron structures downtown, community parks and gardens.
“There’s a lot of diversity in the community, we wanted to represent that here and give the City the ability to use a wider range of colors,” Guide Studio’s Creative Director Gina Gerken says. “The palette is colorful because the community is colorful.”
Purposeful progress
Grove City has already begun to slowly integrate its new look into multiple facets of the community.
“We made the decision as a team that we are going to slowly trickle this out,” DeCastro says. “We’ve started phasing in the new logo as new products are ordered. We’re being intentional, not throwing out items we can still use.”
With sustainability in mind, the City has already converted aspects easier to change, such as its digital and social media presences. According to Walters, digital newsletters and stationery have already been 100 percent converted.
Currently in the works and on the horizon are newly branded City vehicles, uniforms, collateral materials, promotional items and more.
In the meantime, as the refresh continues to unfurl, the City’s work will become more visible through consistency, improving its ability to connect with residents and visitors alike in a purposeful and efficient manner.
“The City does so much for the community, but the community doesn’t always know that,” Gerken says. “(This will give) the City the ability to have more of a presence and more of a way to have a dialogue with members of the community.”
The resulting benefits will stand as a reminder that Grove City’s fresh look is much more than just a new logo.
“Branding is much more than that,” DeCastro says. “We were very intentional about the (logos), but really, the messaging and how we’re positioning ourselves as allies to our residents and the central Ohio community was top (priority) for us.”
Ella Jay is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at ejay@cityscenemediagroup.com.
