The Minnesota Star Tribune
In its 157th year of existence, the Twin Cities' premiere news publication came to us with a bold ambition: Break the boundaries of their existing audience to embrace the entire state of Minnesota, while redefining the model for regional journalism in the contemporary landscape. Through the process of strategic repositioning, renaming and rebranding we armed them with the foundation it needed to resonate in new ways with new audiences in a new future.
A brand designed to connect all of Minnesota
The Star Tribune was at a crossroad of simultaneously being a legacy cultural institution known state-wide, while being characterized as representing only the interests of a narrow demographic in the metro-area of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Renaming and rebranding as “The Minnesota Star Tribune” was the first necessary step to signal the intention to actively start to change that perception.
A modular identity system for a borderless brand.
We modernized the brand for the future with an emphasis on stark black and white that lets content be the message and color be highly functional. A new typography system solved current and future styling, legibility and implementation issues across all mediums while a new suite of supporting elements let the brand work and play in new ways.
Combining contextual awareness and disruptive writing to make the medium the message.
To launch the rebrand and signal our new approach to regional journalism, we needed to maximize a responsible amount of resources while also disrupting preconceptions all over the state. That gave us the opportunity to tie our messaging to specific contexts while actively addressing the concerns Minnesotans have.
- Credits:
- Created at — 10 Thousand Design / Colle McVoy
- Partner Agency — Code & Theory
- Executive Design Director — Ed Bennett
- Senior Designer — Paul Hudachek
- Designer — Greta Hatzung
- Group Creative Director / Writer — John Neerland