#candidbranded Series: Grain Valley, Missouri

The City of Grain Valley, Missouri was looking for a new and fresh logo/brand. After winning the project through an RFP process, candid went to work on creating a new brand for the City of Grain Valley.

We started this project by diving into key messaging sessions and holding many listening sessions to understand the culture and history of the city. From these insights, we then created a brand position, tagline and logo concepts. The Grain Valley brand is the product of the experiences, attitudes, values and integrity of the people that call this place home.

It’s no secret that Grain Valley lies on the “outskirts” of the Kansas City metropolitan area. Throughout the research phase, we continued to hear perceptions that Grain Valley is “one step out,” “far away,” and “on the other side of town,” while residents like that they can “get out of the city.” Additionally, the concept of “get out there/here” were recurring.

Its geographical location “outside” of Kansas City and its inner ring suburbs, and the personification of independent living led to “Life Outside the Lines.” This simple statement says that Grain Valley is beyond plain, boring or basic. It is out past the ordinary suburbs, and outside of whatever expectations may or may not exist for this next level community.

The unique logo consists of sans serif typeface with custom letterforms that show movement. It is a self-contained logo that is easy to replicate on materials. The colors selected were based on a variety of factors including, the community and branding committee feedback that we received during the listening tour.