Aix-en-Provence City Branding
Logo, branding, brochure, website, tourist office, tourist bag
The Challenge
Design branding that encompasses the myriad aspects of the city of Aix-en-Provence, then apply it across items for visitors.
Background: Aix-en-Provence is a city in the South of France best known as the home of the Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. The city is historic, relaxed, fashionable, and, due to the presence of several colleges, artsy and hip. There are also nice parks, great hiking spots, and famous outdoor markets.
My Approach
Aix-en-Provence represents many things to many people. To me, it’s a place where I studied abroad and took drawing and painting classes. I knew tying all my different ideas together would be challenging.
Moodboards and Research
I explored visual inspiration from impressionist paintings, art nouveau style typefaces, and warm color palettes from the markets and streets of the south of France. I also read through journals I kept during my semester abroad, and reached out to a friend, Andrew Eaton, who I met during that semester. He is a talented photographer and allowed me to look at the photos and videos he took that semester, which was so helpful for my visual research. He even allowed me to use some of his photos for my website design.
Sketches
I played with a few ideas in sketches. I explored using the iconic mountain, Sainte-Victoire, as a container for the logo, but found that approach cheesy and out of step with the overall ideas I wanted to convey. I also looked at using “Aix” as a shorthand for the city, as this is something that locals do. I explored the second option further in my digital drafts.
Digital Drafts
In digital drafts I created variations that were simple and elegant. Two versions (the bottom of the four pictured right) reference the iconic mountain by creating a peak inside the A or between the I and the X. Ultimately these felt out of line with the aesthetic of the city and placed too much emphasis on the mountain, something you’d expect from a skiing town. I moved forward with the top-left option which features a beautiful typeface created by Louise Fili called Montecatini. I loved that within this typeface the bolder characters look Roman, while the thinner variations have an art nouveau style. Combining these aspects encompasses the city’s historical and artistic significance.
Final Logo
I heard in feedback that there was room to improve the contrast between the “Aix” type and “en provence.” I explored variations, hunting for the version that would strike the perfect balance between contrast and cohesion.
Tourist Touchpoints
With the logo finished, I crafted an elegant, geometric visual language that combined the triangle, the symbol of the famous mountain Sainte-Victoire, with the warm, contrasting colors of Cézanne. I applied the branding across a brochure, website, tourist office facade, and a takeaway item for visitors. I landed on a reusable bag, something tourists could use as they shop at the famous outdoor markets.
Travel Brochure
Website
Reusable Bag
Office of Tourism
Reflection
I loved working on this project because I got to explore many, many typeface options and spend time tweaking the kerning and leading within the logo. I also enjoyed organizing information and creating visual hierarchy within the brochure and website. In the future, I’d love to add to this project by crafting a marketing campaign with ads, especially billboards.