Red Mesa Outpost: Start Up Branding
Brand Development + Investor Strategy + Creative Direction
Overview
Red Mesa Outpost is a high-end adventure resort in development near Bryce Canyon, Utah. The founders engaged Apollo & Pep Designs to define the visual and strategic foundation of their brand prior to launch — one that would attract investors, unify internal planning, and set the tone for future guest-facing experiences.
Objectives
The project required more than a logo. Red Mesa Outpost needed a cohesive pre-launch identity system capable of bridging two parallel audiences:
Investors and development partners seeking confidence and clarity in a scalable brand vision.
Future guests expecting a refined yet grounded desert-luxury experience.
Our objectives included:
Establishing a timeless, location-driven brand identity grounded in the Utah high desert.
Creating a design and communications framework to support early-stage funding, partnership decks, and presentation materials.
Building an adaptable foundation for long-term marketing, signage, and guest materials once the resort opens.
Approach
Apollo & Pep Designs guided Red Mesa through a complete brand strategy and identity development process:
Brand Positioning & Voice: Defined the narrative pillars and visual personality — “rugged luxury, grounded in place.”
Creative Direction: Developed mood boards, design language, and core messaging to align investor expectations with the founders’ long-term vision.
Identity Design: Crafted a hand-drawn primary logo and visual system inspired by the red rock formations and fluid desert landscapes, supported by a refined color palette and minimalist typography for high-end application.
Investor & Launch Strategy: Designed a suite of investor materials — pitch decks, financial overview templates, early-stage campaign visuals, and branded collateral — ensuring all communications presented as part of one cohesive identity.
Brand Guidelines: Delivered a comprehensive toolkit detailing logo use, typography, color, and tone, providing the client a scalable asset library ready for both print and digital deployment.
Deliverables
Full logo suite (primary, secondary, and icon marks) in vector and digital formats.
Investor and development decks, pitch documents, and presentation materials.
Brand guidelines and asset library.
Messaging framework and creative direction for launch campaign strategy.
Consulting on visual hierarchy and content structure for future website and guest materials.
Challenges
Red Mesa Outpost’s brand had to represent both operational credibility for investors and emotional resonance for travelers — before the property physically existed. Balancing those two priorities required precision in visual tone and language.
Apollo & Pep resolved this by anchoring all design decisions to measurable strategic goals — clarity, trust, and longevity — while maintaining the handcrafted aesthetic that will later define the guest experience.
Outcome
Red Mesa Outpost now has a complete pre-launch brand foundation and investor suite that position the resort for confident growth. The visual identity, investor materials, and creative direction collectively communicate a single message: intentional design, operational readiness, and place-based authenticity.
While the resort has not yet launched publicly, the identity and strategy systems are actively guiding development and investor communications — ensuring that every future touchpoint, from signage to marketing, builds on a unified and scalable brand.
Summary
Red Mesa Outpost demonstrates Apollo & Pep Designs’ ability to lead brand development and investor-facing strategy for emerging ventures. Our work combined design, positioning, and communication strategy to create a launch-ready foundation for a hospitality brand built to last.
