The Downtown Austin Alliance’s 2023 Art & Parks Tour virtually takes guests through murals, artworks and greenspaces in and around downtown Austin. The Art & Parks Tour was celebrated with a kickoff bike ride attended by more than 250 people in March 2023.
My role in this project was the creation of the full visual suite, managing advertisements, and working on the back end for the creation of the virtual Art & Parks Tour.
The inspiration for the Art & Parks logo and branding materials came from bringing the aspects of the tour to life in a fun and engaging way. The main inspiration for our duo featured in the logo was from 50’s drive in animations.
Parks in Texas have beautiful wildflowers in the spring, which is where the inspiration for our first character came from. Though many mediums are featured on the tour, most artworks on the tour were painted by muralists. Since spray paint is a favorite for muralists in Austin, the inspiration for our second character was born. And because the kickoff event for the tour would officially be a bike-led tour, a tandem bike bringing both art and parks together (quite literally) in harmony finalized the idea.
Promotional materials for the kickoff event featured an outlined version of the 2023 logo superimposed on many of the tour stops that folks would experience along the tour. Artworks and park locations were featured equally in the print and social materials.
Participants in the virtual Art & Parks Tour earn points as they make their way across downtown and check into tour locations via Bandwango. Folks that check into enough locations are eligible for prizes (like rad stickers and hats), rewarding them for their participation.
Volunteers and the first 150 participants at the Art & Parks Tour kickoff ride received Art & Park Tour t-shirts and hats as a thank you. Below are just a few scenes from the kickoff ride featuring happy faces and the branded merch in action.
Ashrose Creative 