COTA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
THE CHALLENGE
As COTA approached its historic 50th anniversary in 2024, the Central Ohio Transit Authority wanted to celebrate this milestone with a comprehensive visual identity that honored both its rich heritage and its forward-looking vision. The challenge was creating a design that felt both nostalgic and contemporary — one that would resonate with longtime community members who remembered COTA's early days while also appealing to new generations of riders. The logo and anniversary branding needed to work across all applications, from digital platforms to vehicle wraps, while maintaining the strong brand recognition COTA has built over five decades.
THE OBJECTIVE
Create a distinctive 50th anniversary logo and brand identity that pays tribute to COTA's historical branding while capturing the retro aesthetic of the 1970s, establishing a cohesive visual identity for the year-long anniversary celebration that reinforces COTA's legacy.
THE APPROACH
Hunter Marketing created a comprehensive anniversary brand system that draws inspiration directly from COTA's own history. The centerpiece logo serves as an almost exact replica of COTA's original vintage design with the same typography that longtime team members remember from the sign that once hung at the McKinley Avenue facility. This nostalgic foundation was expanded into a full retro-inspired brand palette featuring authentic 1970s colors like vibrant orange, teal and yellow, complemented by bold geometric design elements and stripe patterns that echo the era's distinctive visual style.
The typography and line work pay homage to both retro aesthetics and the roads and transit lines that form the backbone of COTA's services. By anchoring the entire anniversary brand system in authentic historical elements while adding contemporary applications, we created a visual identity that feels both familiar and celebratory, perfectly suited for a year-long tribute to COTA's five decades of service.
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF MOVING EVERY LIFE FORWARD
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