Town of Stratford Crest
The Town Crest was developed in 1995 when the Town of Stratford was created through an amalgamation of the former communities of Bunbury, Southport, Cross Roads and Keppoch-Kinlock and the unincorporated area of Battery Point. Residents chose the name Stratford for their new community in a plebiscite.
The Town Crest was selected from among various entries in a competition to design a new crest for the newly incorporated Town. The winning design was submitted by David Beaton of Gemini Screen Print. The following describe the elements of the Town Crest and how they relate to the new Town of Stratford:
The solid green bar under the word Stratford represents the road and the land. The blue waves represent the water and together they represent the meaning of the word “Stratford” which means “Road over Water.”
The five maple leafs represent Canada and the five communities that make up the Town of Stratford (Bunbury, Southport, Cross Roads, Keppoch-Kinlock, and Battery Point). The five communities are also represented by the budding branches towards the bottom of the crest. The five sets of buds, one at the top and four along the sides, were chosen as they represent the birth and growth of a new town.
The type style for the word “Stratford” and the color gold were chosen as they both represent heritage and greatness.
The Town Crest is protected by copyright and persons who wish to use the crest must first obtain permission to do so in accordance with the Branding Guidelines and Graphic Standards Manual.
The Town of Stratford Flag
The Town of Stratford Flag was designed and adopted in 2001 to represent the Town of Stratford as situated within the Province of Prince Edward Island and the Country of Canada. The lion and the Oak trees in the top banner are derived from the Provincial flag. The middle banner incorporates the Town crest to represent the Town. The bottom banner incorporates five maple leafs to represent Canada and the five communities that make up the Town of Stratford. The colour of the top and bottom banner are the green and blue colours from the Town Crest.
The Town of Stratford Logo
In October 2012, the Town of Stratford released its new Engagement Strategy. As part of this Strategy, the Town of Stratford undertook a re-branding exercise. As a result of the feedback received from stakeholders and residents, a new Town of Stratford Logo was launched with a brand promise of “Imagine that!”
Design and Branding Rationale: What and Why
The Town of Stratford logo was designed to reflect the best of what Stratford has to offer and our vision of a more sustainable future. Specifically it was designed to:
- communicate confidence, belief and aspiration in who we are what we are doing
- inspire feelings of belonging and community
- convey an image of sustainability, balance, growth and strength
- look and feel like a leader
- walk the talk in terms of inclusiveness and engagement
- be mindful of place, i.e. Prince Edward Island
The various elements of the logo contribute to this design intent as follows:
Growth: in the sense that the shape is largely representative of flora with leaves and even seeds. Further, the symbol also suggests radiating, explosive growth, or the dispersal of energy from a central point. The placement of the “seed pods” is also suggestive of fireworks, which perhaps subliminally, has the effect of representing explosive or exciting movement.
Vibrancy: If the concept of a living-growing community were not represented fully in the flora theme, it is definitely driven home by the colour palette, which was suggested originally by the Town Crest. While the colours are natural earthy tones representative of a seaside Prince Edward Island community, they are also representative of the colours of life and growth: earth, water, and living greenery.
Geography: As mentioned, the colours of the geography of the community are represented. The shapes and location of the colours are important too, with the flora and land elements rising from the water.
Typestyle: The script is important, as it is friendly and humanistic without being too formal. It also balances the very slight formality of the serif font, which in itself is still humanistic and personal.
The Town Logo is protected by copyright and persons who wish to use the logo must first obtain permission to do so in accordance with the Branding Guidelines and Graphic Standards Manual.
Branding
The new Stratford brand was designed to convey core Stratford qualities that were confirmed during the focus groups, qualities like vibrancy, growth, confidence, pride, aspiration and opportunity.
The symbol suggests growth, energy, movement. The concept of a vibrant, living PEI seaside community comes through in the flora theme, driven home by the colour palette, suggested originally by the Town crest. The Stratford script style is friendly and human. The theme, “Imagine that!” speaks to what we are and how we think about what we could be, individually and together.