Destination Gettysburg unveils new logo

This time of year, Destination Gettysburg takes time to review and reflect on the efforts made to reach new travelers and connect with our repeat visitors. We look at our outlets used, we review our themes and messaging and we consider our creative elements such as taglines, images and identity. As we began this process, we knew we had an ongoing issue with our existing logo - mainly that the full graphic design was not complimentary to our ad designs and even the text-based portion left people wondering if the backward G at the end was a mistake or intentional.

With these thoughts in mind, we embarked on a journey with Boom Creative, our design partner from Pittsburgh, to develop a logo that was connected to the destination, not just to Gettysburg.
 
As a designer, there are desired attributes when creating a logo to have the biggest impact. The idea is to develop a mark that will become a brand identifier, even without anything else to support it. Part of this is achieved, simply with our name. However, there are six attributes that were considered during the design phase. The team agreed that the logo should be memorable, bold, engaging, versatile, clean and aware.
 
Boom then developed two survey tools, one for member stakeholders and the other for visitors.
 
We asked our stakeholders what sets us apart from other destinations in Pennsylvania as well as national destinations. Two characteristics came out on top, our history and the fact that we are more than history. For this reason, it was important to acknowledge our history while nodding to our fun vacation experiences.
 
From our stakeholder research and visitor feedback survey, the following factors were considered when designing the new logo:

• Adams County offers a diverse tourism experience, but our destination is historic at the forefront.
• Our identity must help us to be relevant.
• Adams County is a thriving community that is a welcoming and a scenic destination.

We also heard from this group that there was not support for the current logo. The top reasons why included a lack of clarity - the logo didn't clearly say history, but it also didn't tell our complete story. And then there was the backward G.
 
In connecting with visitors, many questions were asked, including key words and phrases that come to mind when thinking of Gettysburg, what they like and dislike about the destination, the makeup of their travel party and more. Our survey tool also asked for feedback on the existing logo. While many comments were collected, over 1,200 to be exact, the one comment that stood out clearly as we reviewed data was, "Gettysburg is one of those names that needs no explanation such as Antietam or Pearl Harbor." The word Gettysburg, by its very nature, is history. With that identified, the question remained, how do we incorporate that we are more than a history destination, that we are a fun, cultural vacation destination with scenic beauty and modern amenities?

---