June 12, 2015

Point of Interests: Branding Fort Point

Fort Point is a vibrant, eclectic section of Boston just across the channel from South Station. It's also been the backdrop for Stoltze Design's endeavors for the last 30 years!

Once home to a booming shipping industry, the neighborhood's brick warehouse buildings evolved into loft spaces for artists and other small business, but the area remained largely undeveloped until the completion of the Big Dig. Now, with the Boston Convention Center and ICA in close proximity, Fort Point is being developed with hotels, restaurants and innovation-driven businesses.

When Friends of Fort Point selected Stoltze to brand the the neighborhood, our goal was to remind both employees and residents of the historic significance of the area and draw visitors to the many attractions today’s Fort Point has to offer.

Because of our involvement in the community and deep familiarly with the neighborhood, we were excited to lead the charge to give a visual voice to our home turf! Through extensive research and rounds of community input, we developed a visual identity system for use on banners, websites, marking materials and environmental graphics. We also created a messaging platform of familiar phrases that incorporate the word "Point." When paired with locally relevant icons and placed near specific landmarks and businesses, the words took on a new, playful meaning. 

The color palette was inspired by the environment, and historically inspired typography was made relevant by using a contemporary typeface (Scout) from the Fort Point based type-foundry, Font Bureau.

Read some press coverage of the new Fort Point banners on the Boston Business Journal and the Banker & Tradesman.

Phase one, the banners, is now live with more applications to appear in the coming months.