Visit Wayne County Ohio Visual Identity & Website
The visual identity for Wayne County centers on the concept of hometown pride. Nestled in northern Ohio, Wayne County combines the charm of a countryside dotted with rolling hills, red barns, and farmland with the vibrancy of a small city. Positioned near one of the largest Amish populations in the United States, it offers a unique blend of rural and urban character.
Above all, the county's greatest strength is its passionate and welcoming community, which serves as the heart of its identity. This translated into the visual styling of handmade furniture, utilizing simple but effective custom typography set into a badge system that is reminiscent of stamps used by furniture makers throughout history. This speaks to their welcoming and artistic community, their Amish neighbors, and literally to a stamp of pride to place on their county.
Agency
Simpleview
Role
Visual Identity Design & Mockup Conception
Scope
Visual Identity
1 | On-Site Visit & In-Depth Discovery Process
Competitive & Regional Analysis
Defining the Personality, Attributes, & moodboarding for the visual identity
2 | Logo Suite Development
Development of a full logo suite, including a main logo that represents the client’s personality and attributes. In addition, regional logos were provided to celebrate the smaller communities within the county.
3 | Responsive Website Design
Strategically designed the website to align with key performance indicators, including visitors guide requests, highlighting blog content, and pointing visitors and residents to their events calendar.
Project Design Process
Both the brand and website were approved with no revisions. The client stated that we provided them with the “perfect logo”.
Project Outcome
Wayne County had a unique challenge of not being the sole Wayne County in the US. So in addition to doing a regional competitive analysis with nearby counties, I did a competitive analysis with counties with the same name.
Regional & Competitor Analysis
Cultured
Authentic
Family-Friendly
Natural
Creative
Welcoming
Industrious & Hardworking
Unassuming
Community-Oriented
Destination Personality
Slower-paced
Vibrant
Idyllic
Multi-Faceted Modern & Traditional
Agritourism
Micropolitan
Peaceful
Destination Attributes
TL;DR
Ensured the colors would pass WCAG color compliance at at least a AA level
Colors represent their modern rural personality
Fonts were chosen based on budget, style, & legibility
I designed a full suite of buttons
Particular emphasis was placed on providing opportunities to find the client’s visitors guide, blog content, and event calendar
Color & Typography
From the beginning of this project, we knew we were going to design the website directly following the branding project. Because of this, I tested the colors for ADA compliance while working on the brand. The colors were chosen to be bright and reflect the lively downtown of Wooster, while also bringing in earthy tones to represent the countryside. I also created tints of the colors to round out the palette, making it easier to use across the website and other branding materials.
For the fonts, both were picked from Google Fonts to fit the client’s budget. Archivo was chosen for its boldness and similarity to the brand font, ensuring good readability at any size. Fraunces was selected because it contrasts nicely with Archivo and helps convey the welcoming, friendly feel of the community.
UI Elements & Information Hierarchy
I wanted the website to be as functional and versatile as possible, so I designed a full set of buttons for the client to use throughout the site. The primary and secondary buttons were designed to work together, while the tertiary button was created for smaller, more specific areas. I also incorporated the brand's diamond badge shape into the design, making diamonds a key element throughout the site.
The client was particularly focused on highlighting their members and partnerships, so we created dedicated sections to showcase local hotels and restaurants. Each year, they release a new visitor’s guide, which we made sure to call attention to several times throughout the website, providing many opportunities for users to find it.
Since the client is very active on their blog, we provided ample space for them to highlight their content. Additionally, Wooster and Wayne County host many events throughout the year, so we made it easy for visitors to find these events, especially for those in the surrounding areas.
