North Liberty portfolio header with logo

North Liberty

The Challenge

In the last 20 years the population of North Liberty has skyrocketed, bringing change and opportunity to the small, tight-knit community. To better reflect the city as it stands today—and where it’s heading—the city of North Liberty decided it was finally time to refresh their brand.

Our Approach

Every successful community rebrand starts with input from the people who live, work and raise their families there. But surveys alone aren’t enough to give you the full picture. To understand the audience’s real opinions about their city—their joys, concerns and aspirations—you need to have a conversation. Many in fact!

In addition to a wide-reaching survey of more than 2,200 residents, we held in-person meetings with key stakeholders as well as a community-wide Spark Event open to everyone in the city. This featured presentations from 10 residents who shared their big ideas and vision for North Liberty.

Armed with insights from our surveys, meetings and Spark event, we partnered with Shive-Hattery to develop placemaking opportunities. We then got to work creating a new brand, logo and positioning line that would speak to residents in a meaningful way.

A Note From the Designer

The North Liberty brand was developed to be modern, warm, and reflect the pride residents have for this community. The “N” and “L” are connected in the center of the logo mark to symbolize the idea of a close-knit atmosphere, while the forward slant adds energy and gives a nod to North Liberty being a forward-thinking city. There’s also a directional feeling to the icon, reminiscent of a compass, to represent the ideal location, close to other communities and opportunities. Within the color palette, blue is tied to the loyalty that residents have, while the green highlights the growth this area continues to experience.

North Liberty horizontal logo
North Liberty square logo

Hype Video

Are you afraid of roving gangs of Street Moms? Neither are we. To launch the new brand, build excitement and dispel common misconceptions about the city, we created a fun (and funny) hype video highlighting everything North Liberty has to offer. We had a blast filming the city’s most popular attractions and hidden gems—we even got the chance to film underwater!