North Boardman Lake District Logo, Print Materials

logo design, print work

The new North Boardman Lake District logo, printed on light-pole banners along 8th Street in Traverse City.

In 2015, a group of Traverse City residents and business owners decided to organize. The organization was dubbed the North Boardman Lake District; its goal was to foster intentional development along the 8th Street corridor, and (subsequently, in 2018) to join the Traverse City Downtown Development Authority.

This meant they needed to present a united visual front in correspondences, marketing materials, and other media. They needed to appear professional, trustworthy and capable. They also wanted to pay homage to the area they sought to represent. They had a logo, but by 2017 some of the members felt strongly that it could use updating. It had low contrast and high detail in places which would have made smaller applications hard to deal with.

A peek inside the revision process; the precursor to the final design can be seen on the upper right.
The organization’s original logo (left), shown alongside the updated version (right).
Several alternate versions were created to incorporate the district’s desired use-name (NOBO), and to function in size-limited applications.

I worked to distill the important elements of the existing mark (the white sailboats which crowd Boardman Lake in the summertime, and the silhouettes of the Traverse Area District Library and the Depot building which houses the Filling Station Microbrewery) into a more contemporary mark which was suited to a wider array of applications. I used thick lines and simpler shapes for improved visibility, then provided an alternate format (not shown here) for applications where vertical space was limited, or where the text in the full “Badge” logo became too small to read easily. Several alternate versions of the mark (shown above) were created to help cement the district’s preferred use-name, “NOBO,” and to reinforce its association with the main logo.

An informational brochure which discusses organizational goals and membership benefits at both resident and business levels, printed by The Copy Shop on 8th Street.
The North Boardman Lake District membership application, also created as an e-signable, fillable PDF.
Embroidered polo shirts for the North Boardman Lake District Steering Committee, designed and created by Jentees on 8th Street.

The NBLD was welcomed into the DDA in 2019, and has been involved in several large-scale development projects involving the improvement of 8th Street. I also had the privilege of creating materials for the Oct. 2019 grand re-opening event, called Apples on 8th…you can read more about that project here!