KNOWDONIA

Creating a travel brand that follows a different path

Brand Strategy Naming Brand Identity Photography Illustration Iconography Animation Copywriting Tone of voice Brand Guidelines Brand Rollout

TRUTH

The Snowdonia region of North Wales has over half a million visitors a year. While most come to climb the mountain, few are aware the area has the highest concentration of summits, beaches, castles, forest and lakes in the UK.

We were approached to create a brand for a new tour company that would take the ‘curious tourist’ off the beaten track using the founders' wealth of local knowledge. We developed a brand positioning around ‘Delightful Discovery' that puts memorable and unique experiences at the heart of the brand.

DARE

With the founder’s extensive knowledge of Snowdonia driving the business, a simple one letter tweak gave us our brand name. ‘Knowdonia’ immediately feels like it’s born out of the area, communicates real insight, and gives the brand a great platform for messaging.

We wanted to create a stand-out brand with an attitude and personality that felt unlike other tour and travel businesses. Inspired by the sheep that roam the region, we developed the sentiment of ‘Don’t follow the flock’ and used this to influence a distinctive visual and verbal tone.

The logo symbol takes the form of a sheep’s head sitting on top of cross made from signposts. The nose and mouth are formed by the letter ‘K’, adding an element of ‘Delightful Discovery’. This theme is also seen in the logotype where the letter ‘O’ resembles a sheep's head and body.

The surrounding visual language references the world of travel stickers and hiking patches, giving a fun sense of exploration. These are paired with stunning photography that showcases the local area and gives a glimpse into the adventure that awaits.

From the outset we knew we wanted to create a business and brand that would feel unique and different in North Wales, but we didn’t know how to do it. Knowing we hadn’t been through a branding process before, Thisaway walked us through each phase of the project with clarity and understanding. The thinking and output speaks for itself. The name, identity, and tone of the brand is something I’m very proud of. It puts a smile on my face, and I’m sure our customers will feel the same.

Christian Wynne - Founder, Knowdonia