The Ask: New Orleans asked the team at 360i to include an ident along with a campaign for its city’s historic Tricentennial celebration. How can a city — marred by controversial public issues, infused with diverse culture, and positioned as a national destination for pro sports, cuisine, and music — find unity under an ident and campaign that speaks for all of New Orleans.

The Solution: I designed an ident that acknowledged the historic age of the American city and proudly exclaimed it’s modernity in a post-Katrina era. The new ident for the City of New Orleans is intended for the next 300 years, as well as a nod to the previous. I chose to modernize the regal color palette that colors nearly every neighborhood, lean on clear, musical annotation typography, and juxapose archival photography as the foundation for the campaign reveal. The mark is designed to be both rigid and sound, while also conveying the shanty-like shotgun-house nature of a city that continues to keep itself standing after every blow ~ A top-heavy O propped up by an A compromised, if not for the L ~ neighbor helping neighbor, city blocks built on ancient foundations.