URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
URA IS EVERYWHERE
The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) is the City's economic development agency, committed to creating jobs, expanding the tax base and improving the vitality of businesses and neighborhoods. The URA achieves this mission by assembling, preparing and conveying sites for major mixed-use developments; and by providing a portfolio of programs that include financing for business location, relocation and expansion, housing construction and rehabilitation, and home purchases and improvements.
As Pittsburgh celebrates its renaissance from rust belt into boom town, the region recognizes that the URA has been a constant and transformative force behind in the city's positive evolution.
W|W successfully helped the URA navigate a branding initiative that re-positioned the organization to become commensurate with Pittsburgh, the "best place to live" City that it supports. Subsequent collaborations between W|W and the URA extended the branding into multiple branded touch-points.
WE'RE HERE TOO
The collaboration took an unorthodox approach to a typical annual report via the creation of an "investor prospectus" with print and web/interactive components that showcase how Pittsburgh has evolved through the assistance of the URA. Yes, we carried around a six foot tall yellow asterisk fabricated using foam core, adhesive, razor blades, yellow paint and took pictures of it. Then made a book.
ACTIVE INTERACTIVE
All this design gets squeezed into the web pretty well too. We built responsive design web experiences to support all devices and all the content the URA threw at us.
In addition to the name and branding, W|W designed & developed the www.launchPGH.com website for the URA, as part of the City's overall plan to create a more robust entrepreneur environment. The responsively-designed website connects entrepreneurs with opportunities and serves as a “launchpad” for local new businesses. LaunchPGH.com is a portal for entrepreneurs, investors, and developers who want instant access to Pittsburgh’s best business and networking resources.
EMBEDDED
Sometimes the message gets to the street. We help it along and frame it in the way it is meant to be seen.
W|W created a branding campaign for the URA that encapsulates the spirit of Pittsburgh and the value of an investment in the City, with a particular focus on the downtown core. The integrated marketing campaign leverages Pittsburgh's great assets and is helping to make the City's Golden Triangle top-of-mind; as a place to live, invest, and visit.
MARKING OUR IMPACT
As the URA's positive impact the region has continued to help transform the City of Pittsburgh, the organization challenged W|W to design a branding campaign that'd be commensurate with their own evolution. "Here is the URA" is accompanied by an iconic flag to represent the people, places and things that have benefited and prospered from the support of the URA. The updated campaign branding debuted in the 2014-2016 Report that showcases the URA's far reaching impact across housing, entrepreneurship and economic development.
