Inglewood Community Branding

Creating a brand identity for Calgary's oldest neighborhood

Role

Brand Designer

Industry

Branding/ Visual Communications

Duration

2 months

DESIGN CHALLENGE

To research and immerse yourself in a chosen neighbourhood, main street, or small town to uncover its genius loci—the distinctive spirit of the place—and translate that into a cohesive visual identity system.

This identity must include a logo, colour palette, typefaces, motion, and supporting graphics, then be applied across mockups and a community newsletter to demonstrate its flexibility and authenticity. This project was done in collaboration with another designer

DESIGN CHALLENGE

To research and immerse yourself in a chosen neighbourhood, main street, or small town to uncover its genius loci—the distinctive spirit of the place—and translate that into a cohesive visual identity system.

Process

ETHNOGRAPHIC RESEARCH

We researched Inglewood’s history, demographics, arts and culture, social media presence, and literature. We were able to delve deep into Inglewood’s identity and also understand how community members and visitors to Inglewood view Inglewood.

Research Activities that we did included:

Photo Ethnography
Desk Research
Examining Literature
Examining Social Media Presence
Public Engagement
Interviews

Here's a deeper look into some of the research we did!

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

Inglewood sounds like belonging, welcome and nostalgia

To conduct public engagement, we put up a poster that invited passersby on the main street to describe Inglewood as a song. This was insightful, as we could infer how people viewed Inglewood and describe it through music. We were left with responses that evoked a sense of belonging, welcome and nostalgia. Upbeat and lively music was also prominent.

INTERVIEW

History, art, and community define Inglewood’s identity

We were able to interview Alana Moore, a manager at Cold Garden restaurant, and Dylan Ames from the Inglewood Community Association. Both interviews were insightful there were similarities found in both interviews, as both interviews highlighted these three aspects of Inglewood’s Identity: historical significance, arts and cultural hub, and the importance of community.

PHOTO ETHNOGRAPHY

Every corner tells a story of history and creativity.

These visuals highlight Inglewood’s unique blend of heritage architecture and contemporary artistic expression.

LITERATURE REVIEW

A neighbourhood with a strong history!

Historical archives and local articles emphasize Inglewood’s industrial beginnings, strong community ties, and cultural significance. These sources contextualize the area’s transformation into a modern hub while maintaining its historic character.

Design Development

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

"Rooted in Tradition, Blooming with Creativity"

We wanted to encapsulate the three main aspects of Inglewood's identity: creativity, tradition and open-mindedness. Additionally, what makes Inglewood unique is the blend of both traditional and budding creative and cultural aspects. Inglewood takes pride in its history but keeps an open mind and welcomes creative and cultural endeavours that keep Inglewood relevant to this day.

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

To create our logo, we wanted to incorporate the name Inglewood and use it as a wordmark or potentially use the initials IW. We iterated through different fonts and different symbols, but eventually learned to move away from making the logo too literal, like using the IW in Inglewood to symbolize the historic Inglewood bridge (tradition).

FINAL LOGO DESIGN

The final logo design is the name Inglewood and a plant icon, but when deconstructed separates into the initials I + W. This way, we were still able to use the initials but also add more meaning by using it to symbolize the blooming of creativity that is prevalent in Inglewood.

STYLE GUIDE

Design Development

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

"Rooted in Tradition, Blooming with Creativity"

LOGO DEVELOPMENT

FINAL LOGO DESIGN

STYLE GUIDE

DESIGN APPLICATION

A community newsletter…

Our community newsletter incorporates all our brand elements, such as our logo, colours, icons, and patterns, to maintain a cohesive visual identity. It features articles about Inglewood's art and history, a local business spotlight, a map highlighting notable areas, and a collection of upcoming events to encourage community engagement. The recommended events align with our brand's concept statement and cover music, art, comedy, and environmentalism, all of which are integral to our brand identity.

View the Downloadable PDF here

THE RATIONAL

Concept Aspect	Design Component	Representation
Traditional	Typefaces	The typeface that we chose for the logo and the subheading is a serif font that is rooted in classical typography. The fonts that we chose appear to be more traditional and formal, which mirrors the long-standing history of Inglewood, as the oldest neighbourhood in Calgary.
Creativity	Logo	The logo that we created uses swatches that extrude from the typeface itself, which symbolizes the blooming of creativity that is prominent in Inglewood. Inglewood is an art and cultural hub that nurtures creativity and where artistry grows, which is also symbolized through the plant icon in our logo
Open-minded	Icons & Patterns	Inglewood is a blend of different businesses and cultural and environmental spaces, where everyone peacefully cohabits as a community. Inglewood is open and welcoming to all, and this is symbolized by using our plant icon. The plant icon is blooming and unfolding, which represents Inglewood’s openness as a community. 2 of our patterns use the same element in different colours, which represents the blending of different aspects of Inglewood's identity.
Vibrant/Eclectic	Colours & Patterns	Our color palette is bold and eclectic which includes a mix of warm and cool tones. It pairs earthy tones with vibrant colors to represent the eclectic and diverse nature of Inglewood