In 2022, the State of Iowa designated Downtown Iowa City as an official Cultural & Entertainment District of the State.

In 2023, we met with multiple stakeholders from various businesses and venues in and around Iowa City and the University of Iowa to create a new dynamic marketing campaign. It may be intimidating for some, but it excites me because of the energy in meeting collective minds. Through multiple discovery meetings and research, presenting arts and cultural examples from communities nationwide, the chosen campaign was named "X Marks the Arts." This exciting experience demonstrated how incorporating many ideas, surveys, and opinions can create a unified identity.

The campaign's explicit goal was to create an easily recognizable, simple identity that would instantly become a brain peg in people's minds, be easy to apply to apparel, and gain city-wide adoption.

The mark's visual simplicity is derived from the city grid and blocks of Iowa City, which started as a plus sign and rotated, masking within a square, and underlying the icon from a square grid that hints at the intersections of the city streets and venues.

The campaign has the potential to significantly boost Iowa City's tourism, given its downtown district's numerous live music venues, museums, historic theaters, independent cinemas, art galleries, and other vibrant organizations. Downtown Iowa City attracts more than 9 million visitors annually.

The X, a key campaign element, is more than just a locator for Iowa City's various arts and culture destinations. It's a versatile design with a black-and-white color palette. The icon can be abstract, interlocking, repeating, and create patterns to suit different contexts. This adaptability ensures the campaign can be effectively applied across various marketing materials and platforms.

Created as lead designer at Meld Marketing