From the Director: Welcome to AED's New Look
March 1, 2022 | By Telly Tucker
By now, I hope you’ve had the opportunity to take at least a quick glance at the exciting new brand identity for Arlington Economic Development. When I took the reins of AED in January 2020, I wanted the team to explore a more modern look and feel for the organization. After all, at the time, we were on a high. Momentum was soaring after the Amazon HQ2 announcement. We were suddenly on everyone’s radar. As we all know, the pandemic brought a lot of work to a halt, and we’re still working to reemerge and share the stories of our innovation with the world. But what hasn’t changed was that desire for a more modern branding style. That new look has now arrived.
As many of you may know, AED’s former look had been around for quite some time. It was time for a refresh, but I encouraged the team to look at our messaging in a whole new way. Our method before had been comprehensive; our former website had a lot of useful information. However, we heard from some of our core customers that it was often challenging to find the specific pieces they were looking for simply because there was so much information.
Our new website streamlines that information, highlighting our most visited pages and making information easier to access. We want to be a valuable resource for our existing audiences and create an enticing message for new audiences. Arlington’s a pretty exciting place to be. We need our potential customers to be as excited as we are.
Our new “inverted triangles” logo is a stylized play on the A and V of Arlington, Virginia, with a bold new color palette that is eye-catching and draws viewers in. It also hints at the proximity to Washington, D.C. with a modern, stylistic take on the capital’s red, white and blue. We worked with consultants to look at best practices in the industry — what was really working in the economic development field. We think this new look and feel evokes the excitement we want to show about Arlington.
And just what is all the excitement? Think about it as an unlimited possibility. The “Be Near, Go Far” campaign says it best. In Arlington, you’re near all you need to succeed; that is, the decision-makers of the nation’s capital, major corporations of innovation and a tech talent base that’s simply unmatched. What does it all mean? Your company can use those resources to go far in its reach and potential. Arlington is where companies come to grow, thrive and succeed.
Our unique brand gives Arlington an exciting new look and highlights our messages of innovation and success. We’re looking forward to all we can achieve as we get out there to market this amazing location.