The Redding City Identity Project worked to strengthen the image and reputation of our city. On January 10th, 2019, the Identity Project held a free public event for the community at the Cascade Theatre to announce the first 10 ideas publicly that would be initiated by 2020 to catalyze a better city. The remaining 10 ideas were announced over social media following the event. All 20 projects can be seen below. Many of the ideas came through our incredible community of people who submitted over 800 individual ideas as well as 2,440 residents bringing their voice through participating in a city wide survey.
A stunning new public art installation that provided shade from the hot sun and some vibrant color. An example from Redlands, California can be seen above.
A free experience linking a genre of local businesses with a reward! A business passport idea could be launched to highlight our excellent local breweries. Earn stamps on a passport by visiting each shop on the map. Completed passports are entered to win prizes like a commemorative Redding pint glass or growler.
A strategic investment to improve how our city appears on the internet. Our City’s image online can be strengthened through a process called Search Engine Optimization. The goal will be to see the good and unique things about Redding prioritized in search results compared to negative content like the example shown.
A beautiful iconic mural on an exterior wall in downtown Redding that allows people to engage with the art and become part of the picture. An example would be this mural by Kelsey Montague #WhatLiftsYou.
The completed mural “Forward Redding” was created by internationally renowned Dutch duo Telmo Miel in 2023.
We all want to experience what makes for a great day in our town! Sample itineraries will be crafted by locals, describing what a great day in the Redding area looks like for them. It’s an opportunity to share our stories with each other about why we enjoy living in this area so much. We could have itineraries for mountain bikers, people with kids, kayakers, a more senior crowd or a day with your dog in Redding.
Improve our existing Riverfront Park Amphitheater located close to the Sundial Bridge by highlighting the gorgeous view of the Sacramento River, creating a shade structure and enhancing elements needed for performances. There will also be an organization taking the lead on programming performances in this beautiful space.
As we have explored “who we are” as a community through the Identity Project, this idea will create positive, authentic and memorable messages to describe what’s best about our hometown. The words we speak as a community have the power to fuel our confidence and create opportunities. Our speech also impacts the way others perceive us and choose to connect to us.
Celebrate one of Redding’s former landmarks and our vibrant history by restoring a cool old neon sign and repurposing it into publicly accessible art to be displayed in Redding. See a great example above from Austin, Texas.
With the help of the Identity Project, Redding’s Inaugural Venture Conference took place in May of 2019. The event sold out and created a new experience in our community that catalyzed business start-ups. The Venture Conference displayed some of the North State’s best ventures and awarded a cash prize.
It’s time to shine some more light on downtown Redding. This project idea is working to add the glow of pedestrian string lights in the heart of our community. We’re about to see an improved ambiance (as well as indirect safety benefits).
This is a colorful mural in one of Redding’s great alleys. This mural will be unique in that it will light up at night to create a destination for pedestrians walking downtown. Bonus: the flexi-neon lights are resistant to vandalism and are cool to the touch.
The idea is to beautifully capture 5-7 of the Identity Projects Ideas in a short film to inspire people regarding what’s possible when a community collaborates with generosity to improve their city.
One of our streets in Downtown Redding will be staged to host a beautiful and highly curated street market with local makers and live music twice a year.
Build and install a Downtown Redding monument sign to celebrate the momentum for revitalization and further identify the heart of the city.
On a single day, Redding residents will gather together to share a meal and their ideas for improving our community. Data was gathered and then shared with local decision-makers to influence future action for the community of Redding.
The native Redding area was once known as the “Land of Plenty” with fish so big and abundant that a Native American girl could utilize the backs of Salmon like stepping stones to cross a creek. This idea was to create a significant piece of art to retell that story.
To celebrate and showcase our burgeoning coffee scene we are proud to announce the addition of The Redding Coffee Festival to our growing list of local experiences. The Redding Coffee Festival will be a fun way for the community to celebrate our first rate coffee culture. Showcasing local cafes and roasteries the event will feature interactive experiences like coffee tastings, educational classes, and some really fun coffee competitions.
The Redding Garden of Lights became a new holiday tradition with a spectacular trail of architecturally designed lights that is be uniquely created for our city. It will be on display in November & December each year for local families to experience and a perfect place to bring visitors! Located at the McConnell Arboretum & Gardens at Turtle Bay, with the famous Sundial Bridge as the front door, the Redding Garden of Lights is an unforgettable experience.
Communities need more than a logo and tagline to connect the soul of their city to the hearts of its people. A city’s identity is what it’s known for in the minds of its target audience – its residents and potential visitors and investors. The Redding City Identity Project created an opportunity to begin to tell our story: it helped to further establish our city’s image and reputation by defining who we are and intentionally building toward what we would like to become. A city’s image is connected to its competitive advantage as a place to live, vacation, and invest. As a city becomes more appealing, it’s better positioned for job creation, increased revenue, and improved quality of life for its citizens.
RESEARCH
The Chamber connected with experts in branding, city redevelopment and city revitalization to assist in developing a strategy for improving our city’s identity. A plan was developed including recommendations that are being executed locally to improve our brand identity.
INVITE INPUT & COLLABORATION
The Chamber facilitated collaboration by involving a broad spectrum of community stakeholders – including local businesses, investors, artists, government and civic leaders, historians, non-profits, healthcare organizations, educators, and the tourism industry. The Chamber conducted stakeholder meetings, a community wide survey, and interviews to help define what we wanted to be known for as a city.
STRATEGY
Project research and input from the community was assimilated to create a plan to initiate 20 ideas by 2020 to strengthen the identity of the City of Redding. This phase included defining areas we could invest in to improve how Redding sounds, looks and the way people feel about the city so that we could begin to build a better story.
IMPLEMENTATION
The Chamber collaborated with partner organizations and local businesses to begin the implementation of the new brand identity strategy.
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