Evolving a civic brand without starting over

Salt Lake County serves more than a million residents across dozens of departments. Our previous collaboration with the County focused on restructuring their website with a strategic eye for more engagement. This time around, we turned our attention to their brand.

While the County's branding was recognizable, the system around it had grown dated and inconsistent. Guidelines were thin, accessibility wasn't fully embedded, and digital standards were fragmented. Departments were left improvising, creating unnecessary work, inconsistent materials, and a confusing experience for residents.

The County needed a modern system that could scale across every department without undermining established trust with its residents and creating friction. We saw an opportunity to do just that and create a brand system that would work across every channel for years to come.

Balancing legacy with future needs

Our goal for this project was to evolve, not replace. Stripping away what made the County unique could risk losing engagement and recognition. So instead, we set out to elevate. We started with a series of workshops and collaborative sessions with major stakeholders to align on strategy and design.

From there, we refined the County's logo for clarity and extended it across the entire brand hierarchy—departments, divisions, and programs. We expanded the brand system with modern typography, an extended color palette, photography guidelines, iconography, and graphics. Accessibility was built in from the start, with color contrast testing and content hierarchy designed to meet WCAG 2.2 standards.

Next, we introduced a brand-new secondary palette, tone-on-tone pairings, graphic systems, and flexible layouts to modernize the County's identity. At the same time, we also delivered a phased rollout plan, stewardship, and governance strategy to ensure a smooth transition. By staggering implementation, the County could shift to the new system without wasting existing materials or overwhelming its teams.

And to anchor the team, we created the County's Digital North Star, which was a comprehensive set of standards for web components, content, writing, and accessibility. These guidelines are the County's single source of truth, mitigating improvisation, maintaining consistency, and future-proofing the brand without unnecessary reinvention.

An expanded system designed for clarity, adoption, and accessibility

Every design decision was made to build trust with residents, make life easier for internal teams, and create a system that would scale. Here's a breakdown of what we delivered:

• Logo refined + extended: Adjusted proportions and specs for clarity, with established rules that make it easy to scale across departments, divisions, and programs. This guarantees residents always recognize when a message comes from the County.
• Visual system expanded: New typography hierarchy, a completely new secondary palette, updated graphics, tone-on-tone treatments, and photography guidelines, all designed to bring consistency and flexibility.
• Accessibility prioritized: WCAG 2.2–compliant palettes, legible hierarchies, and clear content guidance so every resident can easily access information.
• Governance and stewardship: A SharePoint brand hub, templates, and a phased transition strategy so teams could adopt the new system without wasting resources.
• Digital North Star delivered: Standards for web components, layouts, content structure, and plain-language writing to unify the County's digital presence and help teams to create cohesive, usable web experiences without reinventing the wheel.

Our work for the County did more than just modernize their brand. It helped the County be more functional for the people who use it every day.

Our previous collaboration with Salt Lake County laid a great foundation for our team to best understand their users and their needs. We channeled those very insights into this most recent project, allowing us to hit the ground running and refresh their brand into something more modern, practical, and accessible—without losing sight of who they are at the core. By expanding rather than reinventing, the County preserved its legacy, minimized waste, and established a brand system designed to scale well into the future.

Staff can work confidently with tools that are easy to adopt. And residents experience a brand that feels clear and trustworthy across every touchpoint. A win-win in our books.