New website and brand highlight what it means to ‘Be Noble’

Albion – The Noble County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) has announced the official launch of a new brand and interactive website.

“Our new branding, with the slogan ‘Be Noble’, is a call to action to businesses looking to start or expand in northeast Indiana, individuals exploring a relocation, and those who are already here,” explained Gary Gatman, executive director. “The site provides easy access to resources to start or grow a business, relocate, shop local, find local job opportunities, and invest in Noble County’s economic development.”

The new website is designed to be streamlined, easy to navigate, and engaging while communicating the EDC’s mission to ensure a thriving economy in Noble County. The site features interactive resources including videos, data sets, and maps aimed at helping site selectors, businesses, and individuals find the information they need to “Be Noble”.

In addition to an interactive GIS-based platform featuring available sites and buildings for lease or sale, with media rich content and visualized data, the new website also delivers up-to-date, key data about the county’s target industries, demographics, communities, educators, housing, and more. A blog on the website will be updated weekly to share stories and reports that illustrate what makes Noble County a great place to live, work, collaborate, and play.

“Noble County ranks fourth in the nation for concentration of jobs in manufacturing,” Gatman said. “Among our key selling points are an unparalleled workforce development system, great quality of life, affordable cost of living, and collaborative spirit. We think those shine through in the new website.”

The EDC’s new look features a color palette of dark blue, bright green, and white. The colors were also used to design a new graphic element that accompanies the ‘Be Noble’ slogan. The graphic, in the shape of Indiana, evokes the waves of lakes, rolling farm fields, industry, and transportation. Noble County’s location in the state is highlighted by the placement of a “person” in the graphic.

The EDC also launched two other websites this year. SHOPNoble, at shopnoblein.com, is designed to help consumers shop local and locally owned small businesses and entrepreneurs to find free resources to help them start, manage, and grow. Work Noble, at worknoble.org, provides a virtual job board for jobseekers to find employers and connect to job opportunities in Noble County paying $10 or more an hour and local resources to skill up or find services to support individuals and households.

All of the rebranding and design work was done in-house, according to Gatman. The process took several months and was aided by the participation and input of members of the organization’s 19-seat board of directors, each of whom represents a different business sector or other stakeholder in local economic development.

“The process of rebranding was truly great,” Gatman continued. “Our very engaged and committed board of directors provided tremendous insight, inspiration, and guidance through the process. Once the visual pieces and mission statement were defined, and key selling points discussed, Lori Gagen, our marketing director, translated the concepts into a new website. We will continue to roll out the new branding in our collateral materials, too.”

To learn more about Noble County’s business and lifestyle advantages, visit noblecountyedc.com.