“A designer without a sense of history is worth nothing.” – Massimo Vignelli
The Rebrand Florence project involves myself and several other Shoals area graphic designers. As creatives, we constantly need to improve upon and practice our skills. One fun way we are doing that is with the “Rebrand Florence” Instagram project. The Rebrand Florence project began last year on January 1st, 2014 and featured 17 local designers who posted a total of 195 Instagram posts over the course of 10 months. Each of the 17 designers had two weeks to come up with a new sample visual identity (brand) for the city of Florence. They posted pictures to Instagram throughout their entire design process.
The city of Florence, Alabama has been around since 1818 and is very rich with history. That history remains very important to the citizens here, which is something we learned during last year’s Rebrand Florence efforts. This year, in 2015, we want to embrace that local history and take the Rebrand Florence project in a slightly different direction. The mission remains the same as it was last year: to offer an insider’s look into the design process. From initial research and sketching to the full-blown final brand.
Each participating designer will have control of the Rebrand Florence Instagram account for two weeks. During that time, they’ll post a minimum of 5 images (all must include the hashtag #rebrandflorence) and will show their individual process in creating a brand. The project itself is a bit different than it was last year. Rather than rebranding the city of Florence as a whole, we will be tying into the rich history that Florence has. Each designer will pick from a list of local business from centuries past. They will receive a bit of information about what that company did, and will tasked with creating a brand around the company. Most of the companies that we will be rebranding existed in a time where logos, marketing, and fancy ads were not very common. Most advertising was designed around the typefaces and decorative additions that the local printing press had access to.
The Rebrand Florence project is simply a creative exercise that can help shed some light on the graphic design industry and allow people to see how important quality design is in conveying certain messages. This is a way for people to really understand the process that graphic designers go through when developing a brand. It is a way for all of us to individually showcase our talents, and an opportunity for the citizens of Florence to share in our mutual love for the city.
You can follow along at these links:
Instagram – http://www.instagram.com/rebrandflorence
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/rebrandflorence
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rebrandflorence
Are you a designer wishing to participate? Contact us!
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