Texas Association of Film Commissions

The phrase Film Texas has been used by the film commission in Texas for nearly 40 years. When it came to creating a brand for the newly-formalized association created by the city and state film offices, this phrase became central to the concept. In my research, I collected information on what makes Texas special. As such, Texas is the second largest state in the nation, showcasing diverse landscapes all connected by the largest road system in the U.S. with nearly 80,000 highway miles.

Farm Road

Texas's main rural road sign has a large white shape of the state on a black field with simple white typography. I used this as the primary inspiration when designing the combination mark. With the solid black-and-white shape of the state, attendees at marketing events know they will receive quality services when they see the familiar Texas shape and Film Texas slogan.

When designing the association's website, my design relied heavily on the beauty of Texas's diverse landscapes and cities. After focusing heavily on the road sign concept for the logo, I became fixated on the idea of these incredible photos showing the Texas shape in the logo, achieved through transparency on the site.

Black and White

Borrowing from the state highway signs, I used black and white for the brand, knowing color would be introduced later with photographs. The association consists of offices in different markets around the state—each with its logo and colors—so the combination mark would not conflict.

When selecting a font, I considered using the Department of Transportation-approved highway typeface, also borrowing from the highway signs, but I felt the font needed more sophistication and uniqueness. I wanted to maintain the crisp lines of a sans serif font, but choose a more modern font with a little edge. After a sampling of fonts, Penumbra stood out as the best fit. It was both contemporary and sophisticated. In early visual tests, the M in the name kept drawing the eye, which was distracting. By narrowing the M, I minimized the negative space it created and lessened its visual impact.

The Texas Association of Film Commissions is a non-profit organization of state and municipal film commissions in Texas. Together, these film commissions form "Film Texas" and collectively have many years of experience providing services to Texas's film and television industries.