Explore PKChamber
Explore PK Chamber
Peterborough & the Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce | Brand Design | Website Design
Brand identity & web ecosystem for rural communities across Peterborough County
The Peterborough & Kawarthas Chamber of Commerce sought to extend its reach beyond the city of Peterborough into the surrounding towns and municipalities (e.g. Lakefield, Havelock, Apsley). The goal was dual: to boost the visibility of existing Chamber members in outlying areas, and to attract new members from these regions by demonstrating value and connectivity.
Loon in the Mist Creative under its former name OmniWorx Design was engaged to conceive Explore PKChamber, a parent brand and digital platform under which each participating town could be showcased, connected, and empowered.
Problem & Strategic Objectives
Challenges / Client Needs
The Chamber’s city-centric branding risked alienating rural or outlying areas; smaller towns felt underrepresented.
Local businesses in Lakefield, Havelock, and Apsley lacked a centralized, visible hub to present their offerings to both locals and visitors.
The Chamber needed a compelling “selling point” to encourage membership from communities beyond the city core.
Townships and tourism/economic development departments had overlapping interests, but lacked a unified identity or web presence across municipalities.
The nascent towns’ sites needed to be mobile-friendly, accessible, easy to manage, and built for growth (future towns to be added).
Strategic Goals
Develop a parent brand identity (Explore PKChamber) that could flexibly support multiple town sub-brands.
Launch localized web presences for pilot towns (Lakefield, Havelock, Apsley) that highlight businesses, events, and attractions.
Provide tools and features (business listings, event calendar, newsletter signups) to support community engagement and lead generation.
Position the Chamber as a unifying convener that supports all regions, not only the city, strengthening perceived value for rural businesses.
Ensure the solutions are responsive, accessible, maintainable, and scalable for future expansion.
Our Approach
Brand Architecture & Visual System
We began by crafting a modular brand identity:
Created a parent brand “Explore PKChamber” with broad visual elements, including a logo incorporating a map pin motif and flexible color system.
Defined seven distinct colors, each tied to a municipality or region, allowing sub-brands to customize their color while maintaining brand coherence.
For the first pilot towns (Lakefield, Apsley, Havelock), we replaced “PKChamber” with town names in the logo, and assigned a unique color to each (e.g. metallic blue for Lakefield, dark pink for Apsley, rusty brown for Havelock).
Visual consistency was maintained across logos, iconography, and UI elements (e.g. the “X” in “Explore” uses the town color in the pin) to reinforce the brand link.
By doing so, each town identity feels locally distinct yet unmistakably part of the greater Explore PKChamber family.
Website Design & Development
Parallel to branding, we developed web presences for Lakefield, Apsley, and Havelock (with a view toward later expansion):
Content & structure: Each site features a home / landing page, business directory / featured businesses block, calendar of local events, a newsletter signup, and curated listings for tourism (places to stay, attractions, restaurants).
Custom features: We built custom code to filter and display specific business categories, making it easy for visitors to find what they need.
Accessibility & mobile-first design: Recognizing that many users would be mobile or on the go, we prioritized responsive layouts and accessibility best practices (readable text, alt tags, keyboard navigation).
Editorial tools & scalability: The sites were built to allow the Chamber or local stakeholders to add new towns, business listings, or events without a redesign overhead.
Outcomes & Impact
Brand coherence & flexibility: The modular identity allows new towns to be added seamlessly under the same umbrella, preserving brand integrity while granting local flavour.
Improved visibility for rural businesses: Local shops, attractions, and services now have a hub to be discovered by visitors and locals alike.
Enhanced Chamber proposition: The program gives the Chamber a tangible tool to pitch to rural municipalities and businesses, strengthening its membership case.
Digital utility & growth capacity: Because the sites are built for expansion, additional towns can be onboarded with minimal effort.
User engagement foundations: With features like newsletter signups, event calendars, and business filters, the groundwork is laid for ongoing engagement and growth metrics.
Over time, we anticipate increased traffic to the local sites, higher newsletter subscription rates, better cross-municipality awareness, and measurable boosts in Chamber membership from rural areas.