Background

Imagine cruising down a sun-drenched highway, with the North Dakota prairie stretching before you. Suddenly, a monumental sculpture soars into view, nestled in a rural landscape. This is a glimpse into the experiences that Arts Across the Prairie is creating with eight awe-inspiring public artworks.

Arts Across the Prairie is a first-of-its-kind, statewide, public art program from North Dakota Council on the Arts (NDCA). This program will create eight large-scale public works – one for each region in the state – that reflect the unique history, landscape, and cultural heritage of each region. All eight works will be placed in rural locations. This program is in collaboration with the North Dakota Department of Transportation (a first in the US) and North Dakota Tourism/Commerce with the ND Legislature.

The Challenge

The statewide arts initiative was on a mission to demonstrate the cultural heritage of rural areas and encourage tourism to eight installations throughout North Dakota. In order to do so, Arts Across the Prairie needed to establish a strong, recognizable brand, complete with icons to represent each art installation, and set a standard for others across the nation.

The Solution

As a new program seeking to celebrate rural cultural heritage through public art, they required a brand narrative that was engaging, vibrant, and reflective of their mission.

The brand narrative was built on a foundation of strategy, including components like the mission, values, Archetypes, target audiences, and more. Through strategic exercises, we uncovered their mission: “To celebrate the history and culture of rural ND through public art while building creative relationships across counties and regions.” Their values of creativity, community, and culture help shape both their internal dynamics and external brand presence.

With a clear grasp of the brand essence, we turned our attention to identifying target audiences. While the installations welcome people of all ages and backgrounds, understanding specific audience segments was crucial in shaping the visual identity of the brand.

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Building from the strategy, a logo featuring a custom wordmark was developed. The logo embodies plainsfolk creativity, with teal and peach-orange colors adopted from the state agency color guidelines. The nature of rural art pieces necessitates travel between them, which is represented by the dotted line motif combined with individual dots for each of the eight installations. Taken together, it encapsulates their brand identity, resonates with their target audience, and conveys their commitment to fostering creativity and community engagement across rural North Dakota.

Through careful consideration of fonts, color, and visual elements, we created a cohesive and visually compelling brand kit that effectively communicates the essence of Arts Across the Prairie’s mission and values.

In addition to the brand suite, Arts Across the Prairie needed a unique icon for each art installation. The icons needed to maintain continuity with the brand, while differentiating the installations from one another.

The Results

Arts Across the Prairie now boasts a solid brand story expressed through a robust visual brand. They’re now well-equipped to fulfill their mission of celebrating the history and culture of rural ND through public art while building creative relationships across counties and regions.

And good news… You’ll be able to experience the brand for yourself soon enough! Visit their Facebook page to have a voice in the project and stay updated on the art installations to come!