A rebranding for Colfax?

"Above the fog and below the snow." For decades, it's been the tagline Colfax has lived by. But a recent effort to revitalize the city's downtown district and to boost the economy, in general, has led to a branding initiative that will help define and unify the city's identity. The initiative, which was presented at the May 22 City Council meeting, would aim to inspire the public and draw it to the downtown area. A new logo, color palette, tagline, and the resulting signage, would come together for a more consistent brand for the City of Colfax. "It's kind of like a company has a logo and a brand," said City Manager Wes Heathcock. "Well, jurisdictions do, too." Heathcock said Colfax currently has several "great concepts out there," but not one unified concept that shares the same message. "Branding provides recognition, and we need to brand that feeling of belonging and that high character standing for our community," he said. According to Heathcock, the current tagline isn't working. "Our current tagline tells people where we are geographically, but it doesn't tell people who we are," he said. Which is? "We clearly identify as a railroad town," Heathcock said. "A rural mountain community. And there's an opportunity to capitalize on that." While the marketing campaign is still in the early works, the city staff and council have narrowed their sights on two companies, Solace Graphics and Thumbler.net, who would partner together to create the rebrand and the resultant signage. Optimistically, the process would take place over three months and would be completed in three phases. During Phase 1, Solace and Thumbler would gather information and draft a proposal. In other words: meet with stakeholders, collect input, examine all of the existing signage and their sites, and submit a recommendation and draft for the council to review. Phase 2 would include artwork proposals for the logo itself — or, more likely, a synthesis of the existing logos into one coherent brand. Finally, Phase 3 would include the actual execution of the plan, including the printing and installation of six to eight signs. The proposed cost of the project is $3,425 with a 20 percent contingency cost for tweaks and revisions, totaling $4,110. "This is a first-time-ever effort for this community," Heathcock said. "The plan is to work with a small group, between the chamber and city staff, and then bring those concepts to council, for the council and the public to comment on." Ultimately, he added, the city council wants to make sure that Colfax's economic development is at the forefront of the staff's minds. "We want to continue to improve the overall quality of life for residents and businesses in this community," he said.