WANDERDOT
Wanderdot is a digital platform and IRL community that connects locals around the globe through media, design, and culture-sharing experiences. We offer a space for local storytellers, reporters, artists, designers, scientists, and activists to challenge cultural myths and stigmas, and explore innovative ideas in underrepresented communities.
WORK / Branding, Digital Assets, Website Design
CLIENT / Self-initiated
YEAR / 2016-Present
In 2017, I founded Wanderdot as a sustainable travel experience company. The goal at the time was to offer a digital space for travelers to connect with locals and discover places without the fear of tourist traps. Furthermore, we wanted to mitigate the gentrification caused by the tourism industry by putting experiences in the hands of locals everywhere and encouraging travelers to shop locally. Shortly after we embarked on the journey, Airbnb launched their experiences product sending us back to the drawing board and providing us with key insight into how not to do things. Altogether, We decided to pivot in another direction while holding on to the idea that locals and the culture that they create are what makes travel and tourism meaningful.
Today, Wanderdot is a digital platform by locals for locals everywhere that seeks to preserve and empower local communities through media, cultural experiences, and radical projects aimed at dismantling systems of oppression one neighborhood at a time. While our digital platform amplifies the underrepresented people and initiatives pushing us all forward, our research and development of tools that promote community building help us to facilitate local growth.
When we began development on the brand, we knew that it needed to feel bold and energetic, but also familiar. It needed to feel like something that’s always been there, like the smiley face by Harvey Ball or a manhole cover somewhere in the middle of the streets. I was inspired by the act of wandering and how discovering something new can open the door for more experiences creating a never-ending cycle of exploration. I thought about how people make communities special and how experiences connect us. The goal was to create something that could be interpreted differently by anyone, but that could be perceived positively by everyone.
Our primary brand color is a bright-orange-yellow that energizes any room where it appears. The color usually lives in the background adding some pop to the environment. Sometimes we bring in additional colors as a way to showcase the diversity that exists across our communities. For example, our buttons come in multiple colors allowing locals to wear their favorite with any outfit on any occasion. I love that supporters of ours can incorporate our brand material into their daily wear via a button or two on a backpack, or sticker on a laptop.
When it comes to photography our belief is that locals should be captured beautifully and authentically. We want people to feel like Wanderdot is their homie, because we are. lol.
