The city is a living and evolving entity, and the logo should be too. It does not need to be a sacred thing, but can change and be molded to various themes. It can be used to promote the city, not just the government functions, but the events, organizations, and people that make Emporia unique and standout from every other city.
The City of Emporia hired Lot & Ilk to solve a problem. The previous logo was dated and generic, and as the city was wanting to grow its brand, it needed a logo that could be protected. This means having a unique mark, not based on an existing design, that could be trademarked.
We were tasked with creating a mark that was modern, simple, and easy to identify. We were asked to incorporate attributes of the city in to the logo, if possible, to create a since of place within the design. These were the local landscape, the nearby Flint Hills, farmland and rivers. As Emporia is the founding city of Veterans Day, we were asked to reference the holiday, as well as the community's growing future.
We worked with a design committee and they ended up choosing a different logo from us, we felt this design best represented the community and our vision for the brand.
Brand Identity
A logo needs to be responsive, especially a municipality logo. Not only does it need to work in a variety of sizes, from billboards to favicons, in web and print, and every other medium, but it will also be used in a variety of official uses. It could be used as a social media profile, a letterhead logo, a city seal, or even a flag. We designed a logo that could be used for whatever purposes the city might need in the future.
We took inspiration from the City's previous seal and incorporated elements from Emporia's past and brought them into the future. The railroad, which allowed the city to prosper, leads the eye to the center of the icon, past plowed fields and to a sunrise over the Flint Hills. A star representing our military veterans looks over the land as a new day arises.
Destinations that we have worked with
