San Diego attraction Belmont Park, known for its historic wooden Giant Dipper rollercoaster, has unveiled a new brand positioning and identity that pays homage to its heritage and the culture of San Diego. The new identity inspires a playfulness that highlights Belmont Park as a place that everyone can come to enjoy.
Ahead of its 100-year anniversary in 2025, Belmont Park appointed brand innovation company BLVR to help provide a clear direction for its future, differentiating it from other amusement parks on the West Coast and nationally. The solution leverages the attraction’s rich history but for today’s audiences. BLVR worked with Belmont Park’s internal stakeholders to uncover the brand’s core conviction – a firm belief that San Diego’s culture is unique, extraordinary, and deserves to be shared.
Articulating Belmont Park’s core conviction informed every part of the visual identity. At the heart of it sits the new logo. Combining all the key elements of the park – the Giant Dipper, the beachfront, and the San Diego sun – in a rounded arch, it’s an effective shorthand for everything that the park has to offer. Its simplicity allows for consistency, essential for an identity that has to live in so many places, from large-scale posters to signage, to a tiny t-shirt badge.
The identity’s wider visual language derives from the logo. Key elements include a suite of shapes to crop photography and to form decorative patterns, as well as a Giant Dipper graphic that can be used to frame various styles of content. Each enables the identity to flex depending on need and application while building a distinctive and recognizable brand.
The visual execution was inspired by the graphic language of the seventies, striking a balance between nostalgia and modernization. For example, the bespoke wordmark features chunky curves reminiscent of that era.
Austin Lane, Executive Creative Director at BLVR, says: “This, alongside the logo, laid the foundations for the rebrand’s nostalgic visuals. However, rather than fully replicating the style in what could quickly become pastiche, it borrows just the right amount. For example, we have injected small moments of playfulness – in the connection between the ‘L’ and the ‘M’ and on the kick of the ‘R’. This keeps it clean, making it a fresher take on the past.”
The color palette further adds to the sense of cohesion, signaling the warmth and optimism of the San Diego culture and enhancing the notion of Belmont Park as a cultural gateway to the city. Inspired by the vibrant colors of the park and the surrounding natural landscape, it features shades drawn from the sand, sun, sky, and water (navy, cream, aqua, yellow and coral). The rebrand is being rolled out over the summer across the park and new merchandise, messaging, uniforms, and wider initiatives, with a new website coming soon.
