CAse Study
Destination Yellowstone
West Yellowstone, Montana is widely known as the gateway to Yellowstone National Park — but the town lacked a distinct identity of its own. Operating with a limited budget and inconsistent visual presence, the goal was to develop a cohesive brand system that positioned West Yellowstone as a destination in its own right.
Role: Lead Designer
Scope: Brand identity, collateral system, website visual direction, social toolkit
Collaborators: Jeremy Spinks, Creative Director (Web design & development).
Challenge: Differentiate West Yellowstone from the national park’s dominant brand while creating a cohesive identity the town could own and sustain. The system needed to unify fragmented materials across touchpoints and remain flexible enough for local stakeholders to implement within budget constraints.
Approach: Developed a simplified mountain mark as the foundation of a flexible visual system. Established a disciplined typographic hierarchy and restrained color palette to convey adventure without relying on national park clichés. Structured the identity for scalability across print, social, and long-form editorial applications, ensuring ease of adoption for community stakeholders.
The first task was to design a logo that represented West Yellowstone, a place for people who love the outdoors and a wild, rugged landscape. I felt the mark should reflect that. I proposed using something from the area to give the logo a sense of place, and of course, be a recognizable icon. I explored animals native to the area, and different landscape features.
I settled on a particular mountain range, and distressed typeface, with sun-rays inviting the viewer on an adventure.
For the look and feel of the rest of the branding efforts, I chose a topographic map line texture, muted colors one might find in an old field guide, and a subtle element- the actual coordinates to West Yellowstone. These elements were implemented throughout the print collateral and the website.
