CELEBRATE IOWA'S OUTDOORS DAY: VISUAL IDENTITY AND MERCHANDISE

Celebrate Iowa's Outdoors Day was an initiative organized by Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation (INHF) and other partners across the state to advocate for nature at the capitol building. It was important to INHF that the branding felt inclusive but exciting to nature lovers of all kinds, and that the budget remain minimal due to lack of funding for the effort. The demographic ranged from children to the elderly and from supporters and partners to legislative staff. It was also important to make the branding non-partisan as to not discourage anyone from participating and feeling like they could be an advocate for nature!

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I started with a moodboard to ensure we were on the same page, which included vintage children's book illustrations, camp motifs, patterns, and larger but adaptable color palette, as this was intended to be a biennial event. I then got to work in creating the logo, which consists of a textured wordmark and combination mark. INHF decided not to have a single logo mark, as they wanted to focus on adapting the word and combo marks to the four pillars of the event – parks & trails, soil & water, quality of life, and wildlife. Because of INHF's request to make any merchandise materials more evergreen, we decided to remove "Day" from the wordmark on merchandise. This still allowed the logo to be recognizable while being more wearable by not being tied to a single event.

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Overall the event was quite a success with hundreds of attendees throughout the day. INHF received positive feedback about the branding, and legislators of all party lines attended the event. Check out the next Celebrate Iowa's Outdoors Day in 2026!