Northwest of all

Letterkenny town centre was at a crossroads—continue in a “business as usual” approach or attempt to future-proof the town as a place of opportunity for its community. Donegal County Council (DCC), as part of Letterkenny’s Regeneration Strategy, commissioned the Letterkenny 2040 Project to reimagine the town’s future.

The project focused on reinventing the town centre by creating green spaces, connecting heritage, and reconstructing the urban environment. We interviewed Letterkenny’s community to understand the town and create a brand that would resonate locally. We discovered that Letterkenny meant many things to each person, so we needed to find a brand solution that accommodated these points of view.

We started with the name, flipping the “L” 90 degrees to create a northwest arrowhead—the town’s location in Ireland. That inspired our approach to the rest of the brand communication—text, photography, and videography all gravitated northwest. The new brand line—”Northwest of all”—underscored this approach. We ensured that Letterkenny’s Irish name—Leitir Ceanainn—worked in the refreshed typography and coined “LKY” to symbolise the ambition of the regeneration project.

We selected a spectrum of colours, taking inspiration from Letterkenny’s architecture and spaces to reflect everyone in the community. Finally, we showcased this fluid, bold, and ambitious brand system in a video for stakeholders and the wider community.