JASPER — The Hamilton County Tourist Development Council voted for a new logo that would best represent the council and Hamilton County as a whole on March 6.

“The logo will represent the county both domestically and internationally, therefore a lot of creative thought was placed into the design” Mariela Garcia Rendon, Executive Director of The Hamilton County Tourist Development Council, said.

“When I first decided to design the logo, I had very little experience in digital design, so I knew I had to find the right people to train me. With a degree in digital design that specializes in Photoshop, Wardell Lofton was the reasonable choice. Wardell was very professional and patient. Every time I felt lost on certain color tones, he would guide me through various color combinations” Rendon said.

Richard McCulley, owner of McCulley Farms in Jennings, has served on the TDC for many years. He provided the original sketch of the front porch house featured in the logo.

The logo was inspired by an upside-down orange. The top part resembles the fruit, the middle resembles the stem, and the bottom represents a leaf.

In the middle, people can observe a colorful, more detailed version of McCulley’s original sketch.

The orange is Florida’s official state fruit and each year thousands of visitors are greeted with fresh orange juice at every Florida welcome center. The blue line that defines the county, pays a special tribute to the Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers that surround Hamilton County. Throughout the year, there will be a variety of adaptations from the original logo.

Florida’s Front Porch is the new catchphrase being used to promote and distinguish Hamilton County from other areas.

Susan Ramsey, Executive Director of the Hamilton County Development Authority, began the rebranding effort for the county years ago.

The TDC adopted the new catchphrase in mid-2018 to promote the county in unison. The Development Authority has offered to sponsor the rebranding of the TDC logo by providing shirts for the council members and other promotional material.

This is only one of the projects that TDC is currently working on, stay tuned for more.