Bicycle tourism is growing and generating “eye-opening” economic impact. Travel Oregon’s Bicycle Tourism Studio provides communities with planning and financial assistance to kick-start bicycle-based economic development. Mayer/Reed has been working with Travel Oregon to develop design strategies for bike and recreation-based place making, identity and wayfinding in places like Oakridge/West Fir, Mosier and Hood River.
Recently we were commissioned to design a logo and style guide for the Gorge Hubs. These community-operated “rest stops” for hikers, bicyclists and recreationalists will provide support amenities while promoting exploration of local experiences. We dove deep to understand how to leverage the “hub” concept into a statewide program with coordinated marketing and signage applications. The logo creates an identity for welcome centers in 6 communities along the Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail. The style guide addresses applications for signage, maps, print and digital media.
Thousands of years of water have carved a deep ravine beneath Willamette Falls in Oregon City. Through the pictorial language of contours, the elegance of an intriguing, concealed underwater gorge is graphically revealed. The landform is so deep and shear that the contour lines stack, appearing as two opposing ribbons. Between these ribbons, we explore the intersection of topography and typography. The contours are now altered to divulge a secondary subliminal message about how rivers bring features of our natural world and its people together.