CYCLE THE ERIE CANAL IDENTITY

• Parks and Trails New York

Parks and Trails New York hired us to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to promote the cycling experience along the Erie Canalway Trail. Part of that plan included designing the overall identity to brand the experience. To best represent the historic and industrial nature of the Erie Canal, we designed a custom typeface for the new wordmark. The chiseled serifs and drop shadow of the letterforms harken the late 18th to early 19th century industrial era and are combined with a circular embellishments on the word “the” to subtly represents “cycling”. “Parks and Trails New York” was set in an arch above the primary letterforms of the identity to create a visual bridge (like you would see over the waterway), while the tagline beneath, “One Trail…Endless Adventures” anchors the experience. 

In some instances the tagline is replaced by other brand identifiers, such as the Annual Bike Tour, to create a flexible identity system. The combined elements of the wordmark, color palette, historic map background texture, and photography are key to maintaining a consistent visual brand and communicating the story of the Erie Canalway Trail. 

The new identity was incorporated into a postcard announcing the launch, rack card promoting the annual tour, comprehensive website, general brochure, press kit, online advertisements, ambassador card for the trail ambassadors to distribute along the trail, and templates for cover sheets to enable the client to project a consistent brand across internally produced publications.

• Project Partners

  Ruth & Co.
  Web Instinct
  Sarah Bilofsky Marketing and Communications