Destination by Design partnered with Visum Development Group of Ithaca, New York, to craft a compelling brand strategy and visual identity for a planned waterfront community, Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA), meant to showcase the area’s creative spirit.
The Challenge
By emphasizing art, culture, and recreation, NOTA aimed to breathe new life into an underutilized former industrial site in the city, creating a dynamic connection between Ithaca’s downtown and the outdoor recreation opportunities that define the Finger Lakes region. NOTA needed a cohesive brand identity that could unify the site’s eclectic and creative energies in a way that resonated with both locals and newcomers.
Visual Identity
We developed a bold and modern visual identity for NOTA, inspired by the site’s industrial past yet providing a memorable, fun, and approachable logo. The design incorporates playful typography, a rich color palette, and versatile graphic elements that reflect the creativity and diversity of the planned community.
Brand Strategy
Guided by its mission to revitalize a historic industrial site, NOTA’s brand framework emphasizes its core values of collaboration, creativity, and care, with a voice that is inviting, inspirational, innovative, and inclusive. Art districts breathe soul into communities, drive tourism, and attract visitors, and NOTA set out to do that through its pillars of retail, arts, culture, recreation, and connectivity.
As with every place brand project, we want to capture what is authentic about this part of Ithaca, and what Visum is trying to bring forth, by drawing from the industrial past and putting color to their vision,
Matt Wagoner
Art Director, Destination by Design
