Overview
'Cats Love Downtown is a rebrand of an annual event organized by the San Marcos Main Street Program and the Department of Housing and Residence Life at Texas State University. Formerly known as Passport to San Marcos, this event is held during the week of freshman orientation to introduce new students to Downtown San Marcos and encourage them to become more involved with all the city has to offer. 'Cats Love Downtown is a digital scavenger hunt. Students have one week to find as many QR codes as possible, which are located in downtown businesses, to win prizes. This is the rebrand process & the execution of the event.
Passport to San Marcos Branding
Branding
One of the main sources of inspiration for the rebrand were the iconic features of Downtown San Marcos. In previous years the Passport to San Marcos identity has been attention grabbing, but doesn't necessarily keep the attention. The goal was to create a design that utilized the secondary color palette affiliated with the university, as well as having visuals students could connect to their new surroundings.
Icons
The courthouse is one of the most historic buildings in downtown San Marcos. It's at the center of the square, and usually one of the first landmarks new students use to navigate the city.
Downtown San Marcos has a growing art community, part of which is represented through various murals that can be found there. "Dive into the Divine", AKA the mermaid mural, is one of the most well known murals and can be found on another historic building in downtown. It embodies the essence of the San Marcos river - which also plays a prominent role in student life.
The Hays Cowboy Statue can be found on the courthouse lawn. It is an iconic statue representing the namesake of Hays County.
Poster
QR Poster
Three templates were created for the QR posters. 100 businesses participated in this scavenger hunt; the posters were designed to be placed within the business for the students to find.
Kick Off Event Photos
