Cody Garcia

City of Nanaimo

A refreshed visual identity capturing the spirit of the Harbour City on Vancouver Island.

Brand Design

2025

Project Description

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“City of Nanaimo” receives a new brand identity that feels more timeless, contemporary, and true to its future-facing ambitions. This refreshed brand was created to better reflect Nanaimo’s history, its dynamic growth, and to serve as a versatile identity that can carry the city forward for years to come.

Challenge

Nanaimo’s previous brand identity captured the city’s spirit and momentum, with elements like the wave graphic and “The Harbour City” slogan reflecting its coastal character. However, as the city has grown and changed, the visual system began to show its limitations. In practice, the identity lacked the flexibility and cohesion needed to support a broad range of applications across departments, platforms, and community initiatives.

The logo’s traditional typeface and structure stood apart from other B.C. city brands, offering a unique but less adaptable presence. With limited variations and inconsistent usage, the visual language struggled to scale and unify the city’s communications.

Strategy

The new brand system needed to unify the city's many touchpoints under a clear, adaptable, and modern identity. With Nanaimo's diverse population and range of municipal initiatives, the new design had to be flexible enough to serve multiple departments and campaigns while maintaining consistency.

Building on the established slogan "The Harbour City," the rebrand introduced refined messaging that better captured the city's uniqueness and growth. Copywriting emphasized key themes like connection, progress, and local pride, creating a voice that could resonate across signage, marketing materials, digital content, and merchandise.

The goal was to develop a memorable, city-wide visual identity that could function at every scale and in every medium, from large-format signage to web interfaces, from community events to formal city documents.

Solution

The final identity emerged through a process of exploration and refinement, with three distinct directions developed and reviewed. The chosen concept stood out for its boldness, simplicity, and distinctiveness.

The brand identity for Expose Films is a love letter to cinema, drawing inspiration from the rich history of film while adding a modern, human touch. The visual direction incorporates a nostalgic aesthetic, referencing the textures, typography, and design trends of the 1970s and 1980s. The pastel color palette serves as a subtle nod to its Canadian identity, giving the brand a warm and inviting presence.

The final identity emerged from multiple stages of development, initially exploring two different visual directions.

The chosen approach offers a fresh take on municipal branding.

The logo features custom wordmark typography that carries wave-like curves. The bold, geometric letterforms are designed for both impact and flexibility—capable of being stacked, abbreviated, or animated, while maintaining a connection to the city's coastal character.

A modular logo system supports consistent usage across all formats. It ranges from full lockups to a simplified "N" symbol, ensuring clarity and recognizability in both large-scale signage and small-scale digital applications.

The wave motif carries across various visual elements, from iconography to background textures, adding cohesion and movement to the brand. A vibrant, modern colour palette featuring seafoam turquoise, coastal blue, and soft sand tones reinforces Nanaimo’s West Coast geography while standing out among other municipal identities.

Motion plays a key role in digital expressions of the brand, mimicking the ebb and flow of water. This emphasis on motion brings the identity to life online and in social media, while honoring Nanaimo’s harbour-side roots.

The wave motif carries across various visual elements, from iconography to background textures, adding cohesion and movement to the brand. A vibrant, modern colour palette featuring seafoam turquoise, coastal blue, and soft sand tones reinforces Nanaimo’s West Coast geography while standing out among other municipal identities.

Key Takeaways

The rebrand reimagines Nanaimo’s identity while honouring its roots. It elevates the original visual themes and messaging, transforming them into a cohesive, modern system that reflects the city’s evolving personality.

The process revealed the value of adaptability in municipal branding, and the final identity is one that balances heritage with boldness, flexibility with clarity. This project demonstrates how strong visual systems can unify a city's departments, engage its citizens, and elevate its presence on both local and provincial levels.

The rebrand reimagines Nanaimo’s identity while honouring its roots. It elevates the original visual themes and messaging, transforming them into a cohesive, modern system that reflects the city’s evolving personality.

The process revealed the value of adaptability in municipal branding, and the final identity is one that balances heritage with boldness, flexibility with clarity. This project demonstrates how strong visual systems can unify a city's departments, engage its citizens, and elevate its presence on both local and provincial levels.

Awards & Recognition

Applied Arts

Brand Identity Design Program

2025 Student Awards

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