Branding & Wayfinding workshops engage community

For immediate release (September 5, 2014) – More than 70 people participated in Thursday’s Public Engagement Day workshops for the City of Orillia Branding & Wayfinding Project, providing a wealth of ideas and suggestions on how the City should be branded in the future.

Four sessions took place throughout the day to capture input from City Council and staff, key community stakeholders, and members of the public.  Discussion evolved throughout the day, and captured everything from how the City is currently being perceived, to how the community envisions being identified in the future. 

"We’re very impressed with the amount of feedback we’ve received on the project so far,” said Laura Thompson, Manager of Communications. “A wide range of ideas and concepts have been shared through both the workshops and survey and we look forward to shaping this into the final brand.” 

A recurring theme throughout the workshops was the need for a strong and consistent message to effectively market the City to attract both jobs and tourists. 

Signage and wayfinding exercises were conducted building on local knowledge of destinations and points of interest, key routes within the City and challenges such as confusing intersections and identifying where visitors tend to lose their bearings.  Future signage on Highway 11 and improved entrance signage were also noted as priorities.

Additional input through more than 400 survey responses collected to date will complement the feedback gathered in the workshops, as well as the input obtained through the Downtown Tomorrow charettes held in May 2012.

The community is encouraged to take a short survey, which is available on the project website at www.orillia.ca/branding until Monday, September 8.

Concepts for branding and signage will be shared at an open house to take place in early 2015.

The City of Orillia is a city of 31,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Lake Country on the shores of Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Visit our website at orillia.ca.

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Laura Thompson
Manager of Communications
705-325-8929
705-826-4399 (cell)
lthompson@orillia.ca