A conch shell is one of the first things many people associate with the Bahamas. In fact, the conch rests atop the official coat of arms of this island chain, and represents its varied marine life. But step upon Bahamian shores and you’ll quickly discover that sea shells are simply the gateway to a culture whose vivid past and present are characterized by bold colors, unique patterns and textures, as well as iconic symbols such as marlins, flamingoes, yellow elder flowers, pineapple, and much more.

Recently, The Publicus Community team was scouting photo shoot locations on and around Grand Bahama Island for an upcoming re-branding of Deep Water Cay. We visited Sweetings Cay and met with many interesting locals who were all too eager to shed light on the history of their island and what they believed represented its beauty. In our scouting, we somehow ended up in the village cemetery and happened upon a tombstone that caught our eye. Don’t ask how we came to scout a cemetery for a photo shoot of a luxury bonefishing resort—we just did. And with Halloween coming up, it seems worth mentioning.

Anyway…the tombstone. Here’s an actual shot of what we saw:

We don’t have any info on who’s actually buried there. It might have been worldly explorer or it could have been just a simple conch fritter cook. Regardless, we found the pattern breathtakingly beautiful in its uniformity, simplicity, and age, and just knew it would find its way into our rebranding effort.

Our designer, Maari Casey, says: “I pulled the design for most of the backgrounds from that very cool tombstone. I wanted the work to feel like it could almost blend into the island.”

Here is her re-interpretation of the symbol on Deep Water Cay’s new website.

Maari adds: “I also used illustrations of shells and fruit because in a lot of the Bahamian design research I did, I noticed that illustrations as well as various plant life and shells were used in a reoccurring patterns on a lot of the textiles.”

The point we’re getting at, is that at The Publicus Community, we always aim to dig deeper and bring forward the authenticity of a brand through design. And that’s something you won’t find on any stock site.

Notice the backgrounds and textures used on Deep Water Cay’s new brochure and community map. Check them out here:

http://issuu.com/publicusco/docs/dwc005_takedownbr_v6-1?e=8054736/4611192

Happy Halloween from The Publicus Community!