Galway is a city on the East coast of Ireland known for its beautiful cliffs, artistic energy, boats, salmon and oysters. This branding project aims to merge the idea of land and sea in Galway while maintainting the young fresh energy of the city.
City Branding
Software - After Effects, photoshop
Research
The craic
Galway’s history spans roughly 800 years, evolving from a strategic medieval fortification into a prosperous merchant "republic" and, finally, a modern cultural capital. Known as the "City of the Tribes," it was historically ruled by 14 powerful merchant families who dominated trade with continental Europe.
Research
official Advertising
The brand story focused on the key destination assets that aligned with the key tourism strategies for the destination, including the key destination brand of Fáilte Ireland’s ‘Wild Atlantic Way’.
Whats the Craic?
Concept
"Whats the craic?" is a gaelic term for "whats happening" or "what's the gossip". Since this city is still one of the areas that predominantly still use a lot of Irish rather than English. I also wanted to focus on salmon as the highlight element of the branding.
Logo
exploration
The goal with the logo design is to have type that is traditional yet friendly. I chose Bigshot as my base font and rounded the corners creating a rule for myself with a system of approaching the corners. This is to merge the idea that Galway still remains in its tradition of speaking Irish while becoming a hub for younger generations to enjoy. I tried some exploration where I merge the Irish way of saying Galway, which is Gaillimh.
Unedited type
Edited corners
I chose to keep top left corners as well as bottom right sharp to be a consistent rule kept in all letters.
I did a texture exploration mimicking the iconic aran knitted patterns in Galway as an homage to tradition. I really love how it came out and the possibilities with motion. I used the top right as an official logo for the branding.
Motion
For the logo animation I was heavily inspired by salmon! Salmon are a big part of Galway traveling along the river that cuts directly across the city and into the sea. I made the type jump like salmon before coming to a stop. I think this is a playful element to the animation.
