HEYREGION
Out with the old, in with the new...minus one rat.
Designer: Sam Berkes
Increasingly, consumers are turning to the web for
news. So when a free weekly newspaper in northwest
Indiana closed, Jed Publishing turned to the internet
to keep local residents connected. But a community
website needs to resonate with the people it
hopes to reach, and HeyRegion needed a stronger
logo to do that.
“It’s amateurish,” says graphics coordinator Jean
Keslin of the current logo. “There is some debate
whether or not to have a rat in the design. Residents
of the area are known as ‘Region Rats,’ but some feel
that is a negative connotation for the region. Also, it
is not as commonly known among residents under
age 30, or the residents who have moved into the
area from Chicago suburbs.”
DG art director Sam Berkes stepped in to help.
Thinking the theme of “conversation” would be fitting,
he started experimenting with voice bubbles—a
device that could be employed throughout the website
to create a consistent identity.
Berkes also explored designs incorporating a
woman shouting “HeyRegion” and an abstract map
of the area. But ultimately, he concluded his first
inclination best captured the tone of the website and
the people behind it. He says, “I wanted to give the
logo a fun feel since the people who run the site are
two self-proclaimed hippies and one nerd. They seem
to be fun people who are running a great community
website, and I wanted to carry out the fun, happy
vibe they seem to be sharing.”
To convey that sense of cheerfulness, Berkes
chose the font SF Espresso Shack and a hip, trendy
green-and-blue combination that meets Keslin’s
request for a logo that can be used in color or black
and white.
Berkes believes the redesigned voice bubble logo
will serve a double-purpose: “The website is a way
for the people of the Calumet region to get true local
news, local events and local help, if needed. It is a
way to tie the community together. Therefore, the
logo with the talking bubbles can represent the need
for [them] to talk to each other and get information
from the site.”
