Branding: Maydelle, Texas Centennial Iron Horse Celebration

THE NEED
The small town of Maydelle, Texas would be celebrating its 100th year anniversary and were planning a multi-activity community event celebration. With the nearby railroad having played a large part of the community’s past, coordination with the nearby Texas State Railroad was established to include a steam locomotive participating at the event. The event would be called the Maydelle Centennial Iron Horse Celebration. To brand and advertise, a logo would be needed for the event.

MY APPROACH
The event staff were open to the direction of the branding. The initial stages involved personal research to brainstorm ideas. Having a strong interest and background with trains, I utilized my artistic design skills to conceptualize a logo that would portray a steam locomotive (Iron Horse) majestically in action pouring smoke into the air. It would strive to appeal to railroad buffs but also depict a look centennial event-goers would be proud to wear on purchased clothing. While there would be many other activities at the event such as horse rides, food vendors, a tractor show and hair coloring for kids, the steam locomotive would be the large star of the show for many. The logo design integrated a Texas star with angular shapes to align with sharp corners of the engine and other railroad elements. The Iron Horse lettering used an age-inspired font with serifs that mimicked a piece of railroad track with its flared edges evoking a historical vibe. For the top area of the logo, I drew a stylized image of the locomotive while strategically positioning the engine’s smoke plume and its shape to loosely become the top point of the star completing the bold design.

THE RESULT
The event was a success drawing a large amount of visitors from nearby towns and counties. The logo was additionally printed on t-shirts and became a hot selling commemorative item.

MY ROLE
Research, design strategy, design thinking, branding, graphic design and layout, project management