Carrickfergus: A Story Reimagined
Carrickfergus is a town shaped by time. For centuries it has adapted, endured and redefined itself, and today it stands at the beginning of another important transformation.
The new brand captures that moment, and its inspiration comes from the town itself. Carved into the old market cross is the Latin motto Gloria Prisca Novatur “Glory in the old made new.” It’s a reminder that reinvention is nothing new here. Carrickfergus doesn’t need to invent a fresh identity; it needs to rediscover what already exists, its extraordinary heritage, its people and its potential.
Honest by design
The brand grew out of real conversations with the community. We heard that visitors come for the castle but rarely explore further, and that local people can feel tourism happens around them rather than with them. We also heard a healthy wariness of regeneration stories that promise too much, too soon.
So this brand is deliberately grounded and understated. It speaks with confidence but avoids exaggeration. It invites people in, rather than trying to impress from a distance.
A story told in chapters
Carrickfergus can’t be summed up in one line, so the brand tells its story as chapters that build over time, one for each of the four pillars of the regeneration programme: the Castle, the Walls, the Waterfront and the Welcome.
You’ll see this reflected in the key areas of the project, from castle access and the promenade to the historic town walls, the Irish Gate and the welcome offered by a renewed town centre. The same simple format flexes to individual projects and community initiatives too, so businesses, community groups and local people can all find their place in the story. As the regeneration delivers, new chapters are added and the story grows.
Built on three values
- Resilience – strength and continuity through centuries of change.
- Resourcefulness – making the most of what already exists.
- Receptiveness – warmth, openness and a genuine welcome.
These aren’t invented values. They describe how Carrickfergus has always been and they set the tone for how the town presents itself: confident, grounded and forward-looking.
How the brand looks and feels
Every element of the identity balances history with modernity:
- Photography – real and candid, with people at the centre: families, visitors and locals enjoying the town in natural, unposed moments.
- Colour – heritage tones drawn from the town’s stone, sea and landscape, lifted by bright contemporary accents.
- Typography – a modern editorial style pairing a classic serif with a clean contemporary typeface — the old and the new, side by side.
- Illustration – icons and patterns inspired by real artefacts, architecture and the town’s maritime character.
- The logo – a crest inspired by the historic Northgate stone, its letterforms suggesting the pages of an open book: a story still being written.
The tone of voice throughout is warm, welcoming and human and the whole system is designed to be consistent yet flexible, with room to evolve as the town does.
Part of something bigger
The brand works hand in hand with the wider regeneration, rebuilding local pride, strengthening the town as a destination and the gateway to the Causeway Coastal Route, and growing steadily as real change takes shape across the castle, the walls, the waterfront and the welcome.
This is not about changing Carrickfergus. It’s about helping the town see itself more clearly and helping others see it in a new light.
Carrickfergus has always been a place of reinvention. This is the beginning of its next chapter.
