Miasta Gwarków – brand identity for an industrial heritage trail

A mark that begins with ripples on water

Neighbouring towns influence one another like ripples on water: each wave changes and blends into the next. That image became our starting point. From a layout of three circles, divided into mathematically defined segments, we derived the emblem, and into its abstract shapes we drew local icons: the kupla (a crossed hammer and pick, the traditional mining emblem), the Gwarki Gate, water and the rolling landscape. We closed it all in a synthetic heraldic shield.

The mark works in four variants: horizontal, vertical, with the full organisation name and as the emblem alone. Each has a defined clear space, a modular grid and minimum sizes, from 8 mm in print to 24 px on screen, so nobody has to guess which one to use.

Typography and colour

The logotype is set in Grenze SemiBold: a Latin serif with a subtle trace of the blackletter still present on Silesian tenements and plaques. Everyday communication runs on Merriweather Sans and its serif cousin Merriweather, with glyphs for over 100 languages and high legibility at small sizes. All the typefaces are free under the OFL licence and available on Google Fonts, so the brand pays no licence fees, including on its future website.

The palette rests on two colours. Navy (Pantone 287 C) brings the stability and gravity of heritage; orange (Pantone 1585 C) adds warmth and the energy of an invitation. A calm grey and a pastel pink support publications with a quieter tone.

Graphic elements

Every element of the system has its own job. The textured gradient builds backgrounds that photographs and typography sink into. Pictograms guide visitors around the trail faster than words. The zigzag recalls a ticket’s perforated edge and gives the materials a touristy, slightly retro feel. The rings are the same ripples the mark was born from, this time working as standalone graphics.

Publications and digital

In print, the region’s history meets the present day: 16th-century mining engravings and archival maps of mining fields sit next to dynamic photography. On these rules we designed brochures, DL leaflets, invitations and event programmes, along with templates for posts, stories and banners, so social media can run without a designer on call for every post.

Carriers and merchandise

The identity scales down to objects: business cards, letterhead, a folder, a tote bag, lanyards with badges for organisers, press and guests, then mugs, pins, deckchairs and umbrellas. Everything is built from the same blocks, the emblem, the gradient and the pictograms, so each new item comes together without reopening the debate about how the brand looks.

Out in the field

The most recognisable carrier is the 217 cm information post, its proportions echoing the markers of historic mining fields. The same object works on a meadow by a spoil heap and on the cobbles between brick tenements.

The outcome

The Local Tourism Organisation received a complete system, not just a logo: a mark in four variants, three typefaces on a free licence, a colour palette, four graphic elements, photography guidelines with a theme matrix, layout grids and designs for over a dozen carriers, from a business card to the field post. A 94-page brand book documents it all, with production-ready file packages.

Today one person in the organisation grows the brand on her own, and every next contractor, from the print house to the future website team, plugs into the system without guesswork. The identity speaks with one voice on a post by the mine, in a brochure and on a phone screen.