In early 2022, Utica, Miss., became one of only nine places in the United States to be selected to participate in the One Nation/One Project (ONOP) initiative, which aimed to help communities build and strengthen sustainable partnerships between the health and arts sectors. Research has shown that participation in the arts can reduce loneliness, prevent depression, support success in education, and increase longevity.
We were engaged by the Mississippi Center for Cultural Production (Sipp Culture) to work with the Utica ONOP Art & Health Community Advisory Group to develop a logo for its Homegrown Utica brand and support the planning, implementation, and engagement efforts for the Homegrown Utica Fest. Although Utica is only about 30 minutes from our office, our first step was to make a trip to the community to better understand the people and the place.
Services Provided
Branding
Graphic Design
Public Relations
Communications Strategy and Implementation
Illustration
Experiential Marketing and Event Planning
Insight.
We spent a full day facilitating a discovery session with the community members, familiarizing ourselves with Main Street (where the festival would be held), and visiting local businesses to experience what makes Utica special. We walked away inspired and filled with ideas for a brand and festival that people would remember for years to come.
Innovation.
Throughout the branding process, we prioritized creating a flexible brandmark that would have longevity for the Utica community during Homegrown Utica Fest and beyond. The logo features a monogram icon mark with leaves integrated into the interlocked “H” and “U” letters to symbolize a cluster of seeds and growth. The concept extends to the arched type of the “Homegrown” wordmark to emphasize the future growth envisioned for Utica.
We created a flexible sub-branding system to allow for other brand extensions for “Homegrown Utica _______” beyond the festival activities such as Businesses, Food, and Market. We paired these brand extensions with custom patterns of food and farm-to-table icons that could be deployed in the CAG’s continued activities to encourage local businesses and improve food access in Utica.