Killington Gets A New Lift.

Having worked with many ski resorts I thought it apropos that I review Killington’s new face lift. Sorry I can’t resist the puns, but I’ll get serious.

We’ll start with shape. The shield is a rise above the old rectangle. Shields are emblematic. They act as a heraldic devise - a distinctive badge - for a nation, organization or family. Most Killington skiers are die-hard fans so they’ll love the badge concept and the badge. I suspect we’ll see some actual patches on jackets this coming season. 

While the old logo had a version in the positive, with a black wordmark, we mostly saw this heavy, dark, blue rectangle with the reversed type. The new palette is reminiscent of a bright, sunny day on the slopes with gleaming white snow. But look again and you’ll also see the industry-wide color reference for trail terrain - green for easy, blue for more difficult and black for expert. While many ski resorts use this nomenclature in their logos it tends to look trite. But not here, because what you see is not the only thing you get. The colors create a three- dimensional mountain peak and if you turn the logo sideways you’ll notice that the big Killington “K” is still there. 


Talk about packed powder, this symbol is packing it in.

I could have done without the script typeface or at least this particular script. Its use could be a nod to Beaver Creek, symbolizing they can compete with the Colorado slope, who also sports a script. Killington’s script is a little retro, due to its weight, but it falls short. I can’t decide if it is cool or if it looks like a wedding invitation font. That’s the problem with using scripts. It’s hard to get away from that cultural association. 

All in all this is a big improvement. A thumbs up from me and on the logometer of one to ten I’ll give it an 8.5.

What do you think?