City of Tucson Mark & Brand Guide

The City of Tucson’s brand mark was designed by Tucsonan Mary Crowfoot in 1949, a mark that represented the “Old Pueblo” — not Arizona’s second largest city with a bold future and rich history! In 2021, a small internal group from the City of Tucson’s Manager’s Office was ready to reenergize conversations about a new mark and approached the creative/design team at Kaneen Communications. Our goal was to finalize a fresh mark and start an internal roll with brand guidelines by January 2022. Our aspiration was a modern mark that would:
• Reflect the palette, look, and energy of Tucson
• Be ADA-compliant and comply with Section 508 IT accessibility guidelines (https://www.section508.gov/tools/playbooks/technology-accessibility-playbook-intro/)
• Immediately work for digital applications such as webpages, favicon, e-signatures, virtual backgrounds, social media, PowerPoints, video mark. This would coincide with the development of a new City website by a third-party vendor
• Have the buy-in of City of Tucson leaders, staff, and elected officials

The team — Kaneen’s project manager, creative director, senior designer, and graphic designer — used this five-step process to successfully deliver the mark and an online brand book:

1. Research and discovery
2. Creative brief of understanding
3. Conceptualization & digital sketches
4. Presentations, feedback, and collaboration
5. Revisions, branding guidelines, production, and support

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero rolled out the mark at the December 2021 State of the City virtual and in-person event. City staff and leadership are embracing the mark with a City point person as Q&A contact.