Logo Design Brief: Ridge Runners

Information about business

Ridge Running is a trail running company.  We provide three things: races, navigation courses and guided days out.  The theory for the navigation courses will be online and practical sessions on trails or mountains.

The races will be based around the South Wales countryside and both challenging and scenic.  Almost every race will involve at least one mountain.  We will keep our race field under 250 participants to balance having a lively atmosphere with protecting the environments and trails and causing minimal disruption to local communities. 

We will build a community of volunteers who we will be reliant on to put these events on safely.  A good logo is crucial to the recruitment of volunteers in the running community as they are incentivised by merchandise and it also acts as advertising for the business.  As such, it would be helpful if the logo was suitable for t-shirts/ hoodies/ travel mugs etc.

Ridge Running will invest in local areas; using local suppliers and services when possible and by donating some of our profits every year to local causes.  We currently organise the Radyr and Morganstown Half and Full marathons which is a non-profit charity race.

All races will be as environmentally friendly as possible.

Target audience

Our target audience is runners but, in particular, fell, trail and ultra runners.  Races are priced between club run organised events (very cheap but limited organisation) and large commercial races (Tough Mudder etc). These races are primarily attended by adults 30 - 60, not young adults.  

Amongst these groups, successful races have strong branding and logos and attract international entrants.

Brand values

I think I’ve covered most of this above but our runners will primarily be professionals aged 30 plus, they will care about the environment and be adventurous.  A logo that balances sophisticated and mature with fun and adventure would be ideal.

Company name

English: Ridge Runners

Welsh: Crib Rhedeg

We’re open to advice on whether we have one logo that includes both or two separate logos.  The priority is the English language version.

Slogan

We don’t need a slogan embedded in the logo.

Desired logo style

Logo type: Combination mark

Open to other logo types but I think combination mark would get the right balance between being attractive and having our name front and centre.  We have no name recognition so the name is important.

Colours

I am flexible on colours but here are some examples of colour palette ideas I like:

I prefer teal and bleached coral over standard green otherwise it can look a bit “Scouts club”.

Logos we like

If you type ‘trail logos’ into google images and select ‘mountain’ as a subcategory there are pages and pages of great logos. ‘Outdoor logo’ also gets lots of great results. It doesn’t need to be complex or big, though it could be. It would be good if it had a ridgeline but the peaks shouldn’t be too sharp or pointy as this may give them impression it’s too difficult for them. If there was a way to get navigation in there too that would be great.