97 Days to Go: In Search of a Brand

A lot of people ask us how we would even begin to go about preparing for a trip this long, with so many kids, and so many destinations. As two well-trained marketing entrepreneurs from Kellogg, we of course reply unanimously with “a brand ID…”  …Duh!

With that, I found this amazingly addictive site called 99Designs.com, where a community of designers from around the world submit designs for your project.  It’s pure brand porn for the graphic design obsessed geek that I am. After answering a questionnaire, clicking through a series of graphical elements, uploading a one-sheet for Project Equator (of course, you have to have a one-sheet), going through two design contest rounds, and selecting a winning designer, we have a brand ID worthy of our venture!

One of the inspirations I included for the designers was an image I took of our kids at Death Valley, CA a couple of years back. We road tripped down the West Coast for the holidays in our trusty steed (aka Megavan), hitting some national parks in the “off season” including Yosemite and Death Valley. Coming down from a wonderful hike in Marble Canyon, the kids had run ahead to where Megavan patiently awaited our return, ambivalently gazing out over the expansive valley as the sun set.

It captures exactly the essence of connection and the absolute “at home” feel we all have when we’re out in the world exploring. Tow of the designers latched on to this concept, and we’re so happy with the results!

Here are some of the entries that we considered: