Thomson Music Mile
Logo Design and Trail Design
Spring 2020 | Home to notable blue guitarist and songwriter Blind Willie McTell, Thomson, Georgia wanted a way to honor its musical history in their downtown. The Music Mile is a conceptual walking trail with branded components including signage, stencils, maps, and a custom Spotify playlist.
See more from the Thomson RSVP Report here.
The Thomson Music Mile logo could be used on signage and promotional items that encourage walkers or downtown visitors to explore downtown Thomson. The bright green color used here borrows from the Thomson–McDuffie County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s existing color palette, complementing existing downtown signage. The logo gives a nod to the history of Blind Willie McTell by featuring the headstock and neck of a guitar with a background of musical elements like a base clef and eighth notes.
| PROPOSED STENCIL & GUITAR PICK SIGNAGE
Providing wayfinding for the Thomson Music Mile can be accomplished by creating a vinyl stencil and applying the design on sidewalks along the route. Vinyl stencils are an inexpensive branding and wayfinding strategy that provide a simple first step to activate an area. Another way to delineate the routes is by adding route markers to lampposts along each path. The markers shown in this rendering are in the shape of a guitar pick.
| PROPOSED MAP KIOSK A Music Mile kiosk could be placed at the Thomson Depot to signify the starting/ending point for the trails. This kiosk features a map of three different routes: a half-mile route, a one-mile route, and a 1.5-mile route. The kiosk also includes a QR code and directions that allow walkers to access a Thomson Music Mile playlist.
| PROPOSED CONCEPT: MUSIC MILE SPOTIFY PLAYLIST The Music Mile playlist could include songs by Blind Willie McTell and other blues artists. The image above shows a Spotify playlist, but any similar music playlist platform would suffice. Generating a QR code for the playlist allows downtown visitors to easily access it from any smartphone. There are several free QR code generators and playlist platforms available.