There are not many places more majestic than the upper Midwest. The land of 10,000 lakes, birch trees, and outdoor adventure. During the 18th and 19th century this wilderness was made home to French-Canadian Voyageurs. From Hudson Bay to Lake Superior these voyagers journeyed along rugged trails and dangerous waters. The “Grand Portage” is a historical term referring to the entrance of Minnesota and the start of the longest trail, stretching about 9 miles. Grand Portage hopes to pay homage to these journeys Northwest and the destinations these men called home. Our packs are made from the finest, most durable material to endure even the most rugged adventures.
The identity created for the Grand Portage hang tag series was carefully crafted to portray the voyageurs journey which is enforced by the brand attributes: rugged, historical and authentic. This solution applies each of the brand attributes through its handmade logo, type choice, paper choice, illustrations, and photography. The tags for each of the three packs, the backpack, canoe pack and duffel bag, are individually unique and yet unified to create an overall cohesive design solution.
DESIGN RATIONALE
These hang tags were designed with Northern Minnesota in mind and meant to take you back to the 1700s during the days of the voyageurs. Grand Portage, the name of the outdoor gear company, is a reference to the 8.5 mile path that the voyageurs walked on their journeys and the names of the three bags are destinations associated with the Grand Portage. The use of an old map and images of prominent Minnesota landscapes is meant to convey a sense of nostalgia and teleport the viewer back to that time frame. The map, logo and imagery also appear aged and weathered to give us a sense of the rugged outdoors. The Poor Richard typeface accompanied by Antique Caslon is meant to evoke a weathered and antique, yet upscale and quality status for the bags they are promoting. Many people enjoy the look of things that are antique which often exhibit wear that gives it character, therefore it was important to stay away from something that felt completely worn out. The string used to attach the tag to the bag was carefully chosen to look like a skillfully crafted rope that was sturdy and strong, just like the high quality bags they were tied to. The back of each tag exhibits pertinent information about the bags they represent including their features, where they were made and a standard barcode. Each tag is crafted from laser cut cover weight Neenah paper.
