--- title: "Case study: Miasta Gwarków – brand identity | Sweet Lava" description: "A full brand identity for the Miasta Gwarków tourism brand: the mark, typography, colours and a system of carriers. See how we designed it step by step." url: https://sweetlava.eu/en/work/miasta-gwarkow/ lang: en alternate_pl: https://sweetlava.eu/pl/projekty/miasta-gwarkow/ --- Culture & tourism # Miasta Gwarków – brand identity for an industrial heritage trail A full brand identity for a tourism brand, from the mark to a system of carriers. Logo, typography, colours and rules that let the brand speak with one voice in print and on screen. Agnieszka Wróblewska ·Jerzy Koenigshaus ![Miasta Gwarków brand identity](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/328bc9aba2f4c94eacae46e399c035c73e8c7165-8000x4500.jpg?w=1600&q=90&auto=format) Context Miasta Gwarków (“Miners’ Towns”) links Tarnowskie Góry, Bytom and Zbrosławice into a single tourism trail around Silesian industrial heritage. The brand belongs to the Local Tourism Organisation and tells the story of the region’s three forces: ore, water and nature. We designed its complete visual identity: the mark, typography and colours, a set of graphic elements, photography guidelines and a family of physical carriers. We didn’t build the website, but the identity is ready to work just as well on screen as it does in print. The challenge The brand had to work everywhere: on an information post by a mine, on a poster, in a brochure and on social media. Industrial heritage is easy to present as heavy and museum-like; we wanted a mark that carries the region’s history yet invites you in. The second task was systemisation: the identity had to give the organisation tools with which one person could grow the brand alone, without guesswork. ## 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. ![Type specimen: letter “a” and the full Grenze SemiBold alphabet in navy](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/970dbf916effae5a01468c1ba39df6ff112a1354-2814x3751.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Grenze SemiBold, the logotype face: a Latin serif with a subtle trace of Silesian blackletter ![Type specimen: letter “a” and the Merriweather Sans alphabet in navy](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/d9bdc79f5fe403ef03a7f2b15fae569e12a65698-2814x3751.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Merriweather Sans, the workhorse of communication: glyphs for 100+ languages, legible on small screens ![Colour board: navy and orange circles with CMYK, RGB, HEX and Pantone values](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/0f6b138d9293fcae5e518e0d75f908b1deef0f85-2814x3751.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The primary palette: navy Pantone 287 C and orange Pantone 1585 C with their tints ## 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. ![A set of 25 navy line pictograms: waves, a gate, a miner’s helmet, a camera, a bicycle, a horse](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/48ea6c1241c3d4660759ae05f79fc01211b95745-2814x2813.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Pictograms: from a miner’s helmet to ice cream and a bicycle, quick navigation around the trail ![An orange graphic element made of concentric, dashed circles](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/491403598883bfbab1b69a0d68834c7e80fc1324-2814x2813.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The rings: the same ripples the mark was born from, working as a standalone graphic ![A navy gradient with a fine grainy texture fading into white](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/4d3d491d43d621436fe8ab3f71630f4dfd417679-2814x2813.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The textured gradient: a background for photographs and typography to sink into ## The system at work Poster and playbill layouts stand on compositional grids, so new formats come together quickly and consistently. For photography we built a matrix of themes that combines People, Culture and Nature into ready shooting scenarios: images show people in motion, discovering the monuments, rather than empty panoramas. The system also covers different moods: the full palette with the complete set of graphic elements suits events, while the restrained version handles serious content. ![A Miasta Gwarków poster: a laughing woman in orange sunglasses eating ice cream, rings and a zigzag around her](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/991977a06491e1fb938b467ab6c9f13d46cb225e-2646x3729.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Event poster: the photograph sinks into the rings, its edge perforated like a ticket ![A variant of the poster with the same photograph cropped differently](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/b6d2bda76a98dcca72458dccf239bb84e6200c3f-2646x3729.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The same layout, second crop: the grid allows variations without losing consistency ![An orange playbill with a 23–30 June events calendar and navy typography](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/cae532cfeb96162af34224e0198bc29d2e6e275b-2646x3729.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Programme playbill: an events calendar on an orange field, dates set in Grenze italics ![Three Miasta Gwarków posters behind the glass of a street display](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/33c9f6bacb6cc5f16142fb3f45e34867f66bc834-3500x2500.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Urban display: a series of posters in a shop window speaking with one voice ![A navy-and-orange Miasta Gwarków flag with the emblem on a mast against the sky](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/1be05eaee12b86940c4c4bc102856b74b7fedcc2-3250x3750.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The flag: emblem and gradient stay legible from a distance ![Two large-format Miasta Gwarków banners on a concrete façade](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/9f477c0ee3e661b174d6d2b332047d7388192e2d-3250x3750.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Large-format banners: the full and the restrained palette within one system ### 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. ![A set of Miasta Gwarków social posts, stories and web banners in various formats](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/671fc31d326b418eff723a5d03d4984bd4988000-4001x2251.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Digital templates: posts, stories and banners, from mining engravings to present-day photography ![A brochure cover with a historic mining engraving and an open spread with a forest photograph](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/ed46223a9ffff5949bc185b38d2a6b16814f1bae-1384x2000.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The brochure: a 16th-century mining engraving on the cover, present-day photographs of the trail inside ![A grid of DL leaflets with an archival map, a black-and-white miner photograph and a pink label](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/56497b8bfb2f89d2a305ea4fc2671046ac97febe-2850x3800.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) DL leaflets: archival maps of mining fields, miners’ portraits and a pink accent from the supporting palette ![An unfolded DL leaflet with a navy-orange gradient and an events programme](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/be11078a8f0f8f4001e6365c43187501938c05eb-3000x2250.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) A DL event programme: the gradient runs across the whole fold ![An open invitation with a navy interior and the programme set in white type](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/97a931b85a5050ba434f684f684c701fe8f3492b-2500x1875.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The invitation: gradient texture and reversed typography ### 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. ![A white porcelain mug with navy pictograms and the Miasta Gwarków logo](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/459932f7e33d590b580abe26be8787538a79dd21-3000x3000.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Pictograms scale down to a pattern, here on a porcelain mug ![An orange enamel mug with a navy rim and pictograms](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/429ee7f208c51d2cfeb880dd3d07cb9ec806c37c-3000x3000.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The enamel mug: a souvenir in the trail’s industrial spirit ![Three lanyards with badges: white “Organiser”, orange “Press”, navy “Guest”](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/1851bb3dad8da448dad360f28a9099229720a56b-3500x3500.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Event badges: organiser, press and guest, each role in its own system colour ![Eight round pins with the emblem in navy, orange and white](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/9e4a0ff0075dcf459114c2c3746455ee998e016f-1911x1911.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Pins: the emblem stays legible even at button scale ![A navy lanyard with gradient texture, a white logo and a metal clasp](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/a621df531e927caa34eb030404f9ca9ed1042974-2500x1600.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) A lanyard with the gradient texture ![A company folder covered in an orange-to-navy gradient with a reversed emblem](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/1f58b1144de1b9de42ff0f69640ee5946de0a059-1800x1400.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The company folder: an orange-to-navy gradient ![Two deckchairs, navy and orange, with the Miasta Gwarków logo on sunlit cobbles](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/33a8e1e20564c86421cf47f74f9c4ac6d3b90e7a-4500x3000.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) Deckchairs in the trail’s colours: a tourism brand that also invites you to rest ![A navy umbrella with an orange gradient, the logo and an orange handle](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/44c7d1a515fe47678712bc61623b787c33fbc843-3000x2250.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The umbrella: the gradient works on any curve ### 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. ![A family by the navy-and-orange Miasta Gwarków information post on a meadow, a spoil heap behind](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/26e177d2fa60fcec5b9e3bcff92758b43053c039-1920x1920.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The information post on the trail: 217 cm tall, proportioned like historic mining-field markers ![A man holding a dachshund reads the information post on a cobbled street among brick tenements](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/9d820a27012df08ca8a0a8389c0f1010d8449b5c-1920x1920.jpg?w=2000&q=90&auto=format) The same post in the city: the system works against Silesian brick as well ### 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](https://sweetlava.eu/en/brand-manual-pdf/) 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. By the numbers 3 towns on one trail 4 variants of the mark 94 brand book pages €0 in font licence fees (OFL) ## Related services - [Brand identity design & design systems](https://sweetlava.eu/en/services/branding-design-systems/) - [Publication design & DTP](https://sweetlava.eu/en/services/dtp-publishing/) ## Related projects ![The website of the Historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/7498f5daba1ccbcc3e76e88ff56a971156281584-3840x2160.jpg?w=1600&q=90&auto=format) Culture & tourism ### [ Historic Silver Mine – a website with online ticket sales ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/work/historic-silver-mine-website-with-ticket-sales/) Information architecture and user flows, desktop and mobile UI design, website build and a deep integration with the external iKSORIS ticketing system. ![Brands of the Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze – the Guido Mine and the Queen Louise Adit](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/pgdlccfz/production/fb0d5e7599e722b07b5449dc7d630bd5dc9917ca-2400x1351.jpg?w=1600&q=90&auto=format) Culture & tourism ### [ Coal Mining Museum in Zabrze – 7 years of building a brand from the inside ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/work/industrial-museums/) A different kind of story. Before Sweet Lava existed, Jerzy spent seven years building the brands of the Guido Mine, the Queen Louise Adit and the museum itself from the inside. Three identities, hundreds of print pieces, photo sessions and 7 advertising campaigns. Blog ## Related articles Branding & typography ### [ Brand manual examples from real projects – and what to look for in them ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/blog/brand-manual-examples/) Three brand manual examples from our own projects, from a cultural institution to an orchestra. What a good manual contains, how to read other brands' PDFs and how to spot a document that actually works. Read article → Branding & typography ### [ Brand manual – what it is, what it contains and what it costs ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/blog/brand-manual/) A brand manual is the instruction manual for your logo – mark versions, clear space, colours, typography, examples of incorrect use. We explain what it should contain, how it differs from a brand book and what it costs. Read article → Branding & typography ### [ Typography in digital design – how typeface choice shapes brand and conversion ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/blog/typography-in-digital-design/) Typography is 90% of web design – almost everything a user sees is text. On how typefaces build brand character, readability and sales results. Read article → Branding & typography ### [ A company's visual identity step by step – from logo to design system ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/blog/visual-identity-step-by-step/) How a professional visual identity is made. The process stages, what a good brand book contains, examples from real projects, prices and the moment it's worth growing the identity into a design system. Read article → ## Related terms - [Brand book](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/brand-book/) - [Key visual](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/key-visual/) - [Logo vs logotype](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/logo-vs-logotype/) - [Visual identity](https://sweetlava.eu/en/glossary/visual-identity/) ## Have an idea in mind? Let's talk. Tell us about your idea and we'll recommend the best route from concept to a working product. [ Get in touch ](https://sweetlava.eu/en/contact/)