Place branding and destination strategy firm marks 18 years shaping how people understand and experience place.
SALIDA, CO, UNITED STATES, September 16, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — CivicBrand, a place branding and placemaking firm specializing in public engagement, place branding, placemaking, wayfinding and destination strategy, is celebrating 18 years in business.
Founded by Ryan and Banner Short on September 16, 2008, CivicBrand began with a focus on design and user experience. Over time, that work led to a larger realization about the role place itself plays in shaping people’s lives. Health, happiness and opportunity can all be elevated or limited by the places people live.
That idea helped shape CivicBrand into the firm it is today, working with cities, counties and destinations to better understand their communities and intentionally shape what comes next.
“Eighteen years in, and we’ve evolved a lot, and I hope we continue to do so,” said Ryan Short, CEO and co-founder of CivicBrand. “The places we work with are doing the same thing. They’re constantly evolving while trying to hold onto what makes them distinct. Our job is really about helping communities navigate that evolution intentionally.”
Over nearly two decades, CivicBrand’s work has taken the firm to places of every shape and scale, from major cities and fast-growing communities to rural towns, downtown districts, neighborhoods and globally recognized destinations.
While the places and projects vary considerably, CivicBrand’s work is connected by a central belief: places are shaped by people. The firm puts local voices at the center of its process and approaches place branding as more than marketing or visual identity. CivicBrand views a strong place brand as shared direction that can help create greater civic alignment around decisions involving policy, budgets, economic development, tourism, placemaking, wayfinding, communications and the everyday experience of a community.
In 2025, that philosophy became the foundation for Short’s book, The Civic Brand: The Power & Responsibility of Place. The book explores the role governments, organizations, businesses and individuals all play in shaping place and the responsibility that comes with it.
Today, CivicBrand is headquartered in downtown Salida, Colorado, with a fully distributed team working with communities around the world.
About CivicBrand
CivicBrand is a place branding and placemaking firm helping cities, counties and destinations better understand, shape and communicate the places people call home. The firm specializes in public engagement, place branding, placemaking, wayfinding and destination strategy and works with communities of all shapes and sizes.
Founded in 2008 by Ryan and Banner Short, CivicBrand is headquartered in Salida, Colorado, with a fully distributed team.
Ryan Short
CivicBrand
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