Donegal Tourism Ltd.
Donegal is Ireland's most northerly county, surrounded on one side by the Atlantic Ocean and cut off from the rest of the Republic by the border with Northern Ireland on the other side.
This inherent isolation has garnered Donegal with a reputation of being forgotten and underrepresented.
Donegal has used this to its advantage in some areas though. In the late 90's and early 00's its tourism efforts used the famous line "Up Here it's Different" to capitalise on its isolation. But this inherent uniqueness and the idea of it being a gem or jewel in the Irish tourism industry is not reflected in its branding identity.
Donegal Tourism Ltd. Brochure, 2016
The current identity is clean and straightforward but it has no distinct voice nor does it really say anything that shows it to be distinctly Donegal. Change the word Donegal to any other county and it would work equally as well. It's generic and non threatening.
Even within Donegal there are sub tourism brands, like this one for the peninsula of Inishowen. A large county but not large enough to have 2 or more competing tourism efforts.
Things have been improving to a certain extent.
Donegal was recent voted Coolest Place On The Planet by National Geographic Traveller Magazine for 2017. The Wild Atlantic Way coastal driving route has a wide ranging and well designed identity that is easily recognisable. However it only focuses on the coast and not the many other things in the middle of the county.
Recent reports have shown that Donegal is also not benefiting from the Wild Atlantic Way as much as other areas on the route.
It is with all this in mind that I have created a new identity for the county. Donegal deserves an identity that reflects its uniqueness and its rouge attitude,. One that reflects the area and says "This is Donegal" that shows its connection with the sea and coast, its wild landscape and its new coolness factor.
