We began working with the Denver Union Station (DUS) partners in 2013 before ground-breaking began. DUS challenged us to work from architectural drawings and a collective vision to bring the historic building to life. The brand also needed a robust collection of marketing materials to educate visitors and travelers on the many unique offerings available within the building.
Care was taken to gather the input of each partner and create a cohesive, scalable brand that reflected this vision. The brand was inspired by the partners’ goals for the project, the history of the building, the people who would be drawn to the space, and the city of Denver itself.
In addition to a cohesive brand, DUS needed a website to build excitement and educate the public on the dramatic renovation. Once DUS opened, the website would serve as an informational source for everything the building had to offer, from various modes of transportation to shops and restaurants. We struck a balance between big, beautiful photos and a healthy dose of white space to reflect the DUS brand.
Through various discovery sessions, workshops and brainstorms, we were able to gain enough information to build a messaging platform which would serve as our base for all materials moving forward. Following messaging, we began development of the visual identity.
Multiple logo studies led us to what became the final DUS logo–a fresh, simplified illustration of the iconic building paired with a clean, bold sans-serif font. We complemented the logo with a thoughtful color palette and typography to complete the brand guide.
Once the look, feel and tone of the brand was established, we began work on the website. The focus of the site was to highlight the tenants and amenities while also providing information about the Crawford Hotel and transportation.
With audiences ranging from locals to business travelers, the site needed to embody a flat structure, making it extremely user-friendly for visitors on mobile devices. Utilizing the AOR WordPress theme, we built the site so it was extremely easy for our clients to be able to manage and update.
To mark the grand opening, a number of collateral pieces were created to announce the date, create excitement and drive visitors to discover the renovation.
With the success of the DUS brand rollout, AOR was asked to assist in a number of other brands associated with Union Station, including The Crawford Hotel and Wynkoop Plaza, where we took a similar approach to help realize a completely unique vision for each space.
The DUS website has been visited by over a half million unique visitors from 150 different countries since its launch in 2014.
The Grand Opening party was wildly successful—attracting some of Denver’s biggest names and raising $1,000,000 for 50 local charities.