Headquartered in Washington DC, The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) represents approximately 600 entrepreneurial owners and operators of short line and regional railroads throughout North America. These businesses play a vital role in the hub-and-spoke rail transportation network, often providing the first and last-mile connection between farmers, manufacturers, and consumers.

As ASLRRA approached the 100-year mark of its storied existence, it had a series of brand challenges to be addressed. Firstly, it needed to create a special centennial brandmark to celebrate the milestone. Additionally, it needed to tear down its existing website and rebuild better, to ensure a cleaner look. As a last step, it needed to create a design theme for the ASLRRA Annual Convention, which is attended by members from across North America.

We kicked-off by working to create a distinctive design for what is an incredibly special landmark – 100 years of existence! The centennial logo we designed incorporates the ASLRRA mark within it, a proud moment for design thinking. Following this, we elevated the design aesthetic of the ASLRAA website ensuring a better user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). A key element we incorporated into the website was an interactive timeline to highlight ASLRRA’s journey spanning more than a century. Finally, we designed a brand identity for ASLRAA’s Annual Convention, extending its look and feel across offline and online marketing materials, such as brochures, stage backdrops, standees, and web-banners.

Our work received high praise from the ASLRRA team as well as its members. The 100 Year logo, initially created only for the organization’s centennial celebrations continued to be in use for 2 years! Furthermore, we were entrusted with designing subsequent brand identities and materials for ASLRRA’S annual conventions for the next 10 years.