Cotton To Steel
Mississippi County, Arkansas Economic Development
The Starting Point
Mississippi County's starting point was a confusing name, a story of steel dominance that was not being told, and a need to clearly show the impact of the economic development foundation in the county to secure future funding. Sitting on the Mississippi River, the County became a leader in Cotton production in the early 1900's. Fast forward to today and Mississippi County has staked its claim in a very different industry as 2nd in the nation in steel manufacturing. The last time their brand, news, and site had been updated was a good 10+ years ago. So we said, "Time to go to work!"
A "Brand" New Identity
The county's name before this project had been The Great River EDF. The new brand name was a culmination of digging in to the county's story both past and present. Quite literally, from Cotton to Steel, Mississippi County’s story of national recognition as an industrial leader is one to pay attention to. So the new name was born.
The Logo
Bringing that story to the forefront, the new logo and brand identity for Cotton to Steel merges together the images of a cotton bloom and rolls of steel into a clean, impactful mark. The fonts, colors and shapes work together to create a bold, friendly and welcoming feel. Both the delicacy of cotton and the strength of steel combine to form a beautifully unique brand.
The Website
Bringing a new brand to the world as unique as Cotton to Steel necessitated a uniquely creative approach. An animated initial homepage hero scroll pitches the story of the brand and the county right off the bat. Internally, the success stories, industry pages, and surrounding content detailing the county's data and progress tells that story clearly.
“If your economic development organization is looking for a new brand and website, I would highly recommend EDSuite. By working with their team, our community was able to express the story of our history and tie it with our vision for the future. Our experience with EDSuite was amazing! ”
– Tamika Jenkins, CEcDVice President, MS County ED
The Photography
Mississippi County is very spread out and fairly rural. Finding the right imagery to represent the county in its best light while making it feel connected was our goal. The necessity of having to transition from fields of cotton into steel plants and keep a consistent style and look really takes skill and a broad sense of the story that is being told. Check out some of the results.
