Port Hood: Beach Capital of Cape Breton
Branding and Master plan for community infrastructure
Client name
Port Hood and Area Development Society
Brief / Summary of Work
This project tapped into the talents of both Form:Media and its sister company Ekistics Planning and Design. Ekistics focused on developing a master plan for community infrastructure while Form:Media worked on building the town’s brand identity.
The goal of this project was to provide a brand identity for one of Cape Breton’s more scenic and underutilized communities.
Port Hood is one of Cape Breton’s more scenic and yet underutilized communities: a quiet rural town with an astonishing array of white sandy beaches alongside some of the warmest ocean water north of Virginia.
Both Ekistics and Form:Media began the process by consulting the community--in a workshop and through an online survey. Community feedback was almost unanimous, indicating the town’s five beaches as the community’s greatest asset and worthy of development. Ekistics tailored its master plan accordingly, recommending a series of improvements and additions to the town’s waterfront.
Form:Media followed up on Ekistic’s plan with a brand idea that positioned Port Hood’s rich and vibrant beach culture front and center.
The brand solution, Port Hood: Beach Capital of Cape Breton, says it all. This is an identity that celebrates a superb physical asset—and sends a clear and confident message out into the world. This solution was met with overwhelming approval by the client and the community, who see their new identity as able to enhance their capability to attract new businesses, shoppers, tourists and newcomers to the community.
Participating Members and Roles
Project Management: Jacob Ritchie (Ekistics Planning and Design), John deWolf (Form:Media)
Creative Direction (Brand): John DeWolf
Graphic Design: Cassy Collins
Brand Specialist: Iain MacLeod
Planning and Design: Rob Leblanc, Phoenix Chan (Ekistics Planning and Design)
