The Boundary Economic Development Committee (BEDC) has launched a new brand and identity. With a reverse B and a regular C encased in a circle, Boundary Country: Adventure Unlimited was developed by branding and communications firm Story & Co.
“(The) logo is a stylized brand, in the continued and time honoured tradition of ranching and ownership symbols,” explained Story & Co. Principal Matt Thompson.
He said that brands have long been associated with the Boundary country and generally speaking, brands are enduring because of the simplicity of their design and they’re easy to remember.
“(The) brand symbol is round. This helps to foster an immediate sense of approachability and warmth – human characteristics that are embodied by smooth curved lines,” Thompson said.
“The circle (or ring shape) is also a subtle nod to the cyclical nature associated with the outdoors/environment. Because the symbol is encircled, there is a ‘Boundary’ inherent in the image itself. The symbol is also centred, generally positioned in the middle of the logo, which pays homage to one of our brand pillars. The letters B and C in the logo belie a double entendre, they stand for both Boundary Country and British Columbia.”
He said that the B was reversed because it suggests the unconventional.
“If you get right down to it, a reversed alphabetical letter was sometimes referred to as a ‘lazy’ or ‘crazy’ letter: both are terms which are happily applied to different types of Boundary experiences and adventures,” explained Thompson.
He said that the Boundary Country adventures aren’t pigeon-holed and not limited to one particular thing, as there are a lot of things people can do, and the use of the word unlimited offers a sort of contrast.
“Where Boundary has these connotations of being contained or controlled, the use of word unlimited in connection with that is nice juxtaposition,” Thompson said.
According to Jennifer Wetmore, community economic development co-ordinator of Community Futures and service provider for the BEDC, it allows the BEDC to be in better position to “clearly and consistently” tell the region’s story, something that’s been in the works for awhile.
“The branding discussion has been on the (BEDC) for years, long before I ever arrived there as the service provider,” Wetmore explained.
“The goal is drive tourists and the tourism economy in the Boundary as a whole.”
She also said that there was a consultation process involved where the community could give its opinion.
“There were four townhall meetings throughout the east and west Boundary – one in Christina Lake, one in Grand Forks, one in Greenwood and one in Rock Creek and they met with almost 200 people and there was also a survey process which garnered the highest return rate of any of the communities or regions that Story & Co. has ever worked with and for and from that, they started to do homework,” she said.