GoBus

Building a trusted public transportation brand from the ground up

Client: GoBus
Partners: Hocking Athens Perry Community Action Program (HAPCAP), Ohio Department of Transportation

The challenge

GoBus didn’t exist yet.

There was no name, no visual identity, no public awareness, and no margin for confusion. The service was being created to solve a serious problem: rural and underserved Ohio communities lacked reliable access to major cities, healthcare, education, and transportation hubs. Trust mattered. Clarity mattered. And the brand needed to feel official, credible, and approachable from day one.

This wasn’t about making something look “nice.”
It was about creating confidence before the first bus ever hit the road.

My role

I was brought in at the very inception of GoBus, before operations began, to help shape the service at a foundational level. This was a true flagship engagement: strategy, identity, and execution working together as one system.

Rather than dropping in to “design assets,” I embedded myself in the process. I learned the mission, the constraints of public transportation, the political and community considerations, and the real people who would depend on this service.

What I delivered

Naming and brand foundation
I was involved in the early brainstorming and evaluation of naming options, helping shape and validate the final name “GoBus.” The name needed to be simple, intuitive, easy to remember, and instantly understandable across a wide demographic range.

Logo and visual identity system
I designed the GoBus logo and established a visual identity that balanced approachability with institutional credibility. The system was built to scale across print, digital, vehicles, and public-facing environments without losing clarity or recognition.

Marketing and communications materials
I created a cohesive suite of materials, including brochures, bus schedules, newspaper ads, website ads, kiosks, and supporting graphics. Everything was designed as part of one unified system so the brand would feel consistent wherever people encountered it.

Website design
The website was designed to be clear, accessible, and practical, prioritizing usability for real riders looking for routes, schedules, and connections, not marketing fluff.

Ongoing brand and design consulting
After the core identity was established, I continued working with the team as a brand consultant. This included advising on marketing decisions and collaborating on bus wrap design selection to ensure the vehicles themselves became moving brand assets.

The process

This project followed a structured but flexible process designed to reduce risk and increase certainty:

• Discovery meetings to deeply understand the service, goals, and constraints

• Research and brainstorming grounded in real-world usage

• Iterative design with clear direction and checkpoints

• Periodic progress meetings to maintain alignment

• Presentation and selection of a final, cohesive design system

• Ongoing consulting to support rollout, marketing, and expansion

At every step, the goal was the same: remove uncertainty, avoid wasted time, and build something everyone could stand behind with confidence.

The outcome

GoBus launched with a clear, professional, and trustworthy identity that matched its mission. From the name to the logo to the buses on the road, the brand communicated reliability, accessibility, and purpose.

More importantly, the system was built to last. It could grow, adapt, and expand without losing coherence or credibility, which is critical for a public service operating across multiple communities and stakeholders.

Why this project matters

This work reflects how I approach branding at its highest level. I don’t just design logos. I help organizations move from uncertainty to clarity, from ideas to execution, and from vision to real-world impact.

Projects like GoBus succeed because the brand isn’t treated as decoration. It’s treated as infrastructure.