Centennial
Anniversary Branding
A commemorative brand system built to carry a 100-year milestone.
Branding | Logo Design | Print & Digital | Motion Graphics
Challenge
Gate City Bank’s 100th anniversary called for more than a commemorative logo. It needed a flexible campaign identity that could honor the bank’s history, feel connected to the existing brand, and scale across a full year of digital, print, promotional, and community-focused touchpoints.
Solution
I developed a centennial logo system and supporting visual language that balanced legacy with celebration. The identity was designed to feel familiar to long-time customers while giving the milestone its own distinct presence across everything from branch signage and social graphics to apparel, merchandise, billboards, reusable bags, and marketing campaigns.
Project Scope
Logo system
Print and digital campaign assets
Branch and environmental graphics
Promotional products and apparel
Community giveaway materials
Motion graphics
Results
Designed a cohesive anniversary identity system across digital, print, promotional, and community touchpoints
Created a distinctive anniversary identity without sacrificing brand recognition
Supported a community-focused rollout, including 20,000 reusable bags produced for distribution and donation
Building on an Existing Brand
Because the anniversary identity needed to live alongside Gate City Bank’s established brand, the exploration focused on evolution rather than reinvention.
Early sketches tested ways to integrate “100 Years” into the existing logo structure while preserving brand recognition, readability, and flexibility across very different formats.
The goal was to create a system that could feel celebratory at large sizes while still remaining clear on smaller applications.
Existing Logo:
Final Logo System
The final logo suite included a primary centennial badge for high-impact placements, simplified horizontal and compact lockups for tighter spaces, and alternate color versions for production flexibility.
Each version was designed to preserve the anniversary message while adapting to the realities of print, digital, signage, embroidery, promotional products, and motion.
Branding Applications
Once the identity system was established, the campaign expanded into a wide range of real-world applications. The anniversary mark appeared across customer touchpoints, employee materials, community giveaways, event signage, digital graphics, apparel, and promotional products — creating a consistent presence throughout the milestone year.
Community Blue Bags
Designed and produced 20,000 reusable branded bags, resulting in both visibility and community impact. Distributing the bags to bank customers as well as donating them to the Fargo Great Plains Food Bank tied the celebration directly to Gate City Bank’s service mission.
Additional Marketing Collateral
Logo
Alternatives
Developed inverse, single-color, and outline versions to solve production challenges, ensuring the logo could be applied clearly across signage, print, and digital formats.