Alisal District Identity
Identity for the Alisal district of Salinas California as a part of the Alisal District Identity Master Plan created in collaboration with SWA and Urban Field.The Plan aims to strengthen the district’s cultural and physical identities to better match the area’s cultural richness, community spirit, and diversity.
The project worked with community members and district residents to create an identity that best represents the heart of the Alisal.
Design Agency: Volume Inc
Art direction: Adam Brodsley + Eric Heiman
Team: SWA, Urban Field
The project worked with community members and district residents to create an identity that best represents the heart of the Alisal.
Design Agency: Volume Inc
Art direction: Adam Brodsley + Eric Heiman
Team: SWA, Urban Field
After being emersed in Alisal history, the landscape, and talking to residents, three questions came to the forefront: How could the Alisal identity evoke the culture and people of the Alisal—yesterday, today, and tomorrow? How might the Alisal identity invite participation from the community to help make it their own? How might the Alisal identity speak to creating a vibrant future for the Alisal? Three design directions were created and presented to the community for them to comment on in person and online.
Of the three ideas, the “Community Building Blocks” option resonated most with the public. One block is just a block. Multiple blocks, and you have structure, strength, and protection. Many blocks and you have a neighborhood, a community. The blocks symbolize different facets of the community. When they come together, they create unique and dynamic letters and patterns.
The design system allows for further variation and customization, including developing additional patterns and “filling” the logotype formats with photographic or illustrative content.
Typography
Pattern
