In February 2024, the City of Hercules tapped Tripepi Smith to help develop new branding guidelines, branded templates and a new logo to complement the Hercules seal. Known as the dynamic city on the Bay, Hercules leadership sought to represent the City’s progress in recent years through a refreshed City logo. As part of the engagement, Tripepi Smith also developed a special 125th anniversary logo for Hercules.
Tripepi Smith Creative Director Kevin Bostwick, Senior Business Analyst Sydni Overly and Junior Business Analyst Avi Vemuri conducted brand research to kick off the project, including interviews with City staff and Councilmembers and an online survey to gather feedback from the community.
“Rebranding a city is always an exciting challenge, and the City of Hercules was no exception,” said Kevin. “The story that surfaced suggested representing the community literally, highlighting public space and including their iconic view of the bay. We appreciated the community, staff and City Council’s engagement and input that helped us develop the new logo and rethink the City’s identity and brand materials.”
This input helped drive the creation of eight logo concepts that were reviewed and discussed by the City Council at its April 23 meeting, resulting in four logo designs for consideration. After soliciting more input from community organization partners via a follow-up survey and focus meetings with Councilmembers and the City Manager, the City Council approved a final logo design on July 24. Tripepi Smith also delivered updated branding assets, including a Style Guide, business cards, email signature, Zoom backgrounds, Microsoft Word and Powerpoint themes and flyer templates.
The new logo incorporates Hercules’ iconic Refugio Valley Park, as well as the classic Hercules quail – a way to tie in with the legacy brand. The new logo and style guide elements are now featured in the City of Hercules’ social media graphics as well as the City’s monthly newsletter, the Hercules Herald.
“It’s not everyday that we get to celebrate such a significant milestone, so producing a beautiful set of branding assets is an excellent way to commemorate the moment. These assets share a refreshed, positive visual representation of our City’s character and community. Tripepi Smith’s expertise in brand refreshes was crucial to emphasizing the City of Hercules’ identity,” said City Manager Dante Hall.
About the City of Hercules
The City of Hercules is a twenty-square-mile suburban community located along the coast of San Pablo Bay in Northern California. The City resides in the Eastern San Francisco Bay area with a population of about twenty-four thousand. Known for its historical sites, vibrant landscape and variety of outdoor activities, the City of Hercules provides plenty to visitors and locals alike.
About Tripepi Smith
Tripepi Smith is a California-based marketing, technology and public affairs firm that serves for-profit, nonprofit and public agencies. Its unique mix of marketing and technology prowess provides a competitive advantage to agencies seeking to leverage the internet to achieve their communication goals. The firm provides full content creation services, including: ghost writing, collateral development, photography, video production, aerial imagery, search engine optimization, email marketing campaigns and website design and execution. Tripepi Smith clients include: City of American Canyon, City of Culver City, City of Cupertino, City of Daly City, City of Duarte, City of Grover Beach, City of Indian Wells, City of La Cañada Flintridge, City of Lake Forest, City of Livermore, City of Malibu, City of Napa, City of Palmdale, City of Paramount, City of Tracy, CalChoice Energy Authority, California Joint Powers Insurance Authority, Santa Clara County Fire Department, Costa Mesa Sanitary District, Rowland Water District, California City Management Foundation, Renne Public Law Group, West Coast Arborists, Scripps College, Blind Children’s Center and Climatec.
