TELLURIDE, COLORADO

Branding a system.
Serving a region.

A REGION
EXPANDED.
SMART.

SMART. San Miguel Authority for Regional Transportation serves one of the most beautiful mountainous destinations in the nation, the Telluride, Colorado region in the heart of the dramatic San Juan peaks. The town’s biggest asset, its remote location tucked in a picturesque canyon, is also one of its biggest challenges. Its hard-to-reach location, with only one main thoroughfare into downtown, creates accessibility challenges. In 2016, regional voters of Telluride, Mountain Village and neighboring communities passed a tax to expand transit and multi-modal options in the region to help solve accessibility, congestion and parking issues. SMART partnered with Studio Six to launch their growing system.

PROJECT SCOPE
Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Identity, Fleet Design, PR, Custom Photography, Maps, Stop Signage, Park & Ride Signage, Website Design, Collateral, Print & Online Advertising, Graphic Standards, Uniform Design, Report on Progress

\\ Custom icons

simple green lines in shape of mountain gondola icon

stick outline of skis and ski poles in green

A bus stop in Telluride with a colorful bus and riders wearing colorful clothing interacting outside

A REGIONAL
SYSTEM
LAUNCHED.

Studio Six started from the ground up and built the entire suite of transit branding collateral. From the fleet graphics to the maps, photo library, tickets, website design, advertising, signage, etc. We developed every touchpoint of this transit brand with a modern and customized look unique to the San Miguel region. The visual identity was carefully crafted to symbolize the region’s distinct character, its chiseled and dramatic landscape with Mount Wilson as the primary focal point.

N.D.R.L. 4 squares representing transit routes

Three people leaning out of the bus door

Map design of transit route in green over lite gray streets

IT’S ALL IN
THE DETAILS.

We may be biased, but the SMART routes feature the most beautiful views in the country. As a nod to the spectacular landscape, we developed the tagline, SMART COMMUTE. BRILLIANT VIEWS. to communicate what makes this service so awe inspiring. From the route icons, to custom photography, colors, fonts, and patterns, all of the details were designed to infuse a sense of place into this regional system that is connecting a region and its population in beautiful Southwestern Colorado.