Lancaster, pa

reimagining a neighborhood

for intermediate typography

student work

visual identity design

completed may 2022

overview

This is a project aimed at capturing the essence of a town or neighborhood through a dynamic visual identity. The neighborhood I focused on was downtown Lancaster PA. An urban neighborhood contrasted by the Amish countryside, all of Lancaster often gets labelled as "historic" and "rural", with downtown Lancaster being ignored for what it truly is. This visual identity aims not to ignore Lancaster's rural areas, but highlight this specific part of the town for being a modern city with a rich history and appreiciation for its PA Dutch culture.

design process

To create a visual identity, I first visited the neighborhood and gathered 50 words that came to my mind. That 50 word list narrowed down to 5 distinct words that fully captured Lancaster's identity. Each of the 5 words are represent by a different visual language, typography, illustration, shape, color and photography. The different languages can be expanded or collapsed for different uses, creating a dynamic system.

view full process book

outcome

I wanted to make Lancaster’s identity resemble the competing aspects of the historical and traditional preservation, along with the new fresh life that is being created. The five distinct visual languages combine to create a cohesive and playful mood similar to a scrapbook. The design system can be scaled up to a billboard or magazine spread, or condensed to a simple tote bag or just a single mark, and still have that distinct Lancaster feeling.

Small details of the design show deeper parts of Lancaster's identity. All the illustrations are common symbols in PA Fancy Dutch hex signs, a tradition that lasted for centuries. The branch crossing out the "A" in Lancaster pays tribute to the city's unique pronunciation, "LANG-kə-stər".

Lancaster, pa

reimagining a neighborhood

overview

design process

outcome

back to `fare`

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Lancaster, pa

reimagining a neighborhood

overview

design process

outcome

back to fare

up next creative studio

back to `fare`

up next `creative studio`