Verge Economic Development

On the Verge of Something Amazing.

Before they were Verge, they were the Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta (EDA). Looking to refresh their image, name, and website, the EDA wanted their branding and content to echo the excitement they felt over economic growth within the region.

Why Did They Rebrand?

The team realized that their old identity wasn’t attracting their broad audience base – spanning renewable energy, cannabis, technology, and tourism sectors. To tap into the world of potential here in Southeast Alberta, the EDA needed to become recognizable and clear in their communications.

“Working with Sarah on our rebrand and website development has been awesome. She consistently asked the questions that we wouldn't have thought of. We are consistently seeing new clients.”

The Strategy

Accomplishing a goal requires a series of targeted actions, so we needed a strategy to show our clients where they should be aiming in all of their marketing and business decisions. For this project, [we hired] Evoke Inspired Marketing to create Verge’s brand strategy. Brooke [insert her last name and her job title] did a fantastic job incorporating the client’s core values while highlighting their brand potential.‍

Verge’s Brand Concept: Momentum

Verge’s branding illustrates the momentum created when a business finally finds the resources it needs to reach the next step [in its growth and sustainability]. It’s meant to be a snapshot in time – when a business is on the brink of a solution [and harnessing the expertize] of Verge Economic Development is what enables them to realize their potential.‍

Verge’s Brand Personality

Innovative and energetic, Verge Economic Development balances corporate professionalism with agility, moving quickly when an opportunity presents itself. They are supportive of local businesses and open to sharing their knowledge and expertise on the many aspects of economic development.‍

The Visuals‍

Once we landed on the concept “momentum,” we had a clear picture of our next steps. Design is all about communication, and our objective was to create a logo or word mark that communicated forward motion. Here are some of the ways we communicated the brand’s strategy:

• An all caps typeface (Panton) created a bold and energetic look
• The slight slant in the font suggested forward momentum
• The rounded corners added a friendly and modern feel
• The space between the letters r, g, and e created motion as well as that “snapshot” in time effect, before a business advances to the next level with Verge’s support
• The bright colour palette communicated energy, trust, and excitement, and it was flexible enough to incorporate all the other regions and sectors
• Imagery was chosen based on communicating what Verge does (attracting renewables, agriculture, tourism, oil + gas, and technologies)
• Imagery also demonstrated the expectations and excitement of the brand

The Website

Finally, with the branding and strategy completed, we could move onto the website. We wanted their website to be simple, easy to update, and to communicate who Verge is and the value that they offer. For this, we created a wireframe and content guide for Verge to fill out their content while the build was initiated. Some of the aspects they wanted to include were a media page, a place to host their newsletter content, and an about page to give people an understanding of who they are and what they do.

Visit verge-ed.ca to see the final product.