We are all travelers at heart. The tourist brand of the South Urals The rethinking of travel The majority of Russians have stereotypes about the South Urals. They imagine it as a harsh region with buzzing factories, people not smiling at all and only industrial tourism. In other words, when it comes to travelling, the South Urals isn’t the destination which comes first to mind. But these stereotypes are not true. The South Urals offers all kinds of outdoor activities: camping and hiking on the endless trails, water sports on the purest lakes, extreme rafting and, of course, conquering the Ural mountains. This is how we came up with a unique tourist offer of the South Urals, that would distinguish it from any other region and attract those who crave for real adventures. The South Urals — a region with one-of-a-kind and diverse landscapes that perfectly fits many types of active recreation. A place for new adventures Diverse nature landscapes became the main brand idea, so we had to bring them to the forefront and show all the emerging travel, leisure and entertainment opportunities. We were to create new associations with the South Urals and tell people about them via positioning and visual identity. The southern Sun and the Ural Mountains We start with a logo: minimalistic and two-color. This logo reflects the name of the South Urals: its sun and the mountains. Soft forms of elements make the logo look friendly, craft and natural. Choosing a color scheme, we made an emphasis on nature shades. The sunset and mountain peaks, densely covered with forests, became the basis. Diverse nature — Diverse graphic Graphics allows modifying elements according to the desired messages. Logo can be easily adapted to different directions by simply replacing the sun with a necessary branded icon. For instance, a tent icon can be used for information about camping, and a paw icon for an announcement about bear trail tours. Nature navigation The icons can be used as route navigation throughout the trip. On the one hand, icons play a role as a graphic instrument to complement communication and create images. On the other hand, during the trips they turn into direction signs. South Ural — a region that has so much to say Another brand attribute is the typography. As the brand has much to say, its words turn into a route which is vibrant and unique. Logo is the starting point, typeface means the journey, icons and stamps are the checkpoints. As a result, our text lives and moves around, paving its own way of narration. Interactive elements Visual identity should be functional as everything which is connected to active recreations. Ours is complemented by dynamic bars and stamps. Wavy bars are the reference to mountain ranges and rivers of the Ural. Contacts, emblems, info about location are optional. The bars are dynamic: they can go up, flip over or turn into a postcard stamp. Branded stamps are the element of visual identity that makes you want to interact with it. A traveler receives them for achievements, for finishing new routes, and collects them into his tourist passport. «The new brand reflects the "unseverity" of the South Urals and its originality at the same time. It shows that South Urals is a unique region, where every tourist can feel as a pioneer and a conqueror». Irina Chirkova Deputy Director of ANO "Agency for International Cooperation of the Chelyabinsk Region"