Airdrie Public Library Unveils New Logo
December 8, 2022 | Branding
By Suzy Rounce
The Airdrie Public Library‘s branding is now out in the wild! Here is a great article talking about what is ahead for them and why they were chosen for the TrailBlazer rebrand in 2020. View the full portfolio for this project here.
“We’re in this little tiny space which is always packed, and so it hints at what is to come with the new library and multi-use facility the City is building,” Tremblay said. “And all of the [new] marketing is in this fun, colourful, exciting brand.”
Airdrie Public Library (APL) has announced the launch of a fresh logo and look, with the new branding to be integrated into the library portion of Airdrie’s much-anticipated multi-use facility in the coming years.
According to Wyatt Tremblay, communications coordinator with APL, the branding brings with it a modern and inspiring new look for the community’s library thanks to a $10,000 award from local media and marketing company, Switchback Creative.
“Working in collaboration with library staff and the board, Switchback was able to imagine an inspiring brand for an organization that already has a huge presence in our community and will carry us into the future,” read an APL press release.
Tremblay said the Airdrie-based creative company saw an opportunity to connect with the library and help “facilitate a new fresh look” as the organization gets set to move into its new home in 2025.
“[Switchback] loves the library and what it does for the community. It was quite the journey being a part of it,” Tremblay said of the process that began in 2020.
He added most of the meetings with Switchback representatives happened over Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, over a span of approximately four to five months.
“It grew and evolved through a series of meetings. They gave us samples… and it boiled down to what we all liked,” he said.
According to the APL press release, the library is growing and changing just like the community, marking the need for an updated logo.
“The rebrand signals our innovative and contemporary contribution to the facility that will serve as a gateway to the civic centre of a dynamic community,” it read.
Tremblay said the new brand offers up some fresh new colours, retiring the former purple logo, but also drumming up some excitement for the new library facility.
“We’re in this little tiny space which is always packed, and so it hints at what is to come with the new library and multi-use facility the City is building,” he said. “And all of the [new] marketing is in this fun, colourful, exciting brand.
“I think it [signifies] we might be stuck in this little building right now, but bigger, better, more colourful, more roomy, more useful is coming,” he stated.
So far, Tremblay said APL is getting positive comments from community members excited about the changes.
Suzy Rounce, creative director and owner of Switchback Creative, said libraries are an essential hub for a city and serve as a place where everyone can meet and access knowledge and ideas that might otherwise be out of reach.
She said APL applied for the company’s Trailblazer Fund, a program where each year, the business donates $10,000 worth of services to a non-profit or charity that needs support. Past recipients of the Trailblazer Award include the Nose Creek Valley Museum, Airdrie Children’s Festival, Airdrie and District Community Foundation, and others.
“APL scored the highest because of their need and our excitement to help such an important public-facing facility,” Rounce said in an emailed statement.
“The new library building is an exciting chance for the library to reach more people in Airdrie who are interested in lifelong learning and connection.”
Rounce said the brand was created in collaboration with the Library Municipal Board with the goal of developing a brand that was exciting, full of connection and knowledge.
“A library is a gathering place for all and this project is meant to be the gateway to the revitalization of Airdrie’s downtown,” she added. “The logo and all of the supporting brand elements were designed to come together to create this feeling.
“The library is such a valuable place for our community. We were happy to help with this legacy project for Airdrie.”