Writer / Megan Jefferson

Colleen Fanning became the Executive Director of the Broad Ripple Village Association (BRVA) in April 2018. Fanning has served as the area City Counselor for the past three years. She owns a small wine business, has a background in marketing and hospitality and is a long time Broad Ripple resident and enthusiast.

“I’ve decided that during this time period of my life, I’m focusing on public service,” Fanning says. “It makes me a better city counselor, it also makes me a better Executive Director of the BRVA. I took the position because it was time to match my life with my professional goals and hopefully my professional results.”

The BRVA has been using the same logo since 1999. One company in Indianapolis created all the logos for the city’s cultural districts. As Indy’s first cultural district, Broad Ripple fought to be included.

“At that time, relative to the other districts, our identity was centered around nightlife,” Fanning says. “Since then, a lot of things have changed. We are really excited to reestablish our focus on being recreational, family friendly, diverse, artsy and outdoorsy, because of our proximity to the canal and river.”

This year the BRVA celebrates its 50th anniversary, and it’s the perfect time for a fresh look — a rebranding. 

“We were really excited when the Create Indy grant came along because it afforded us the opportunity to rebrand in a more future-facing direction, in the way that Broad Ripple wants to grow,” Fanning says.

They asked several companies for bids and chose Tomato Fish Marketing to focus on the project. A task force of individuals from the BRVA and other stakeholders from the community worked with Tomato Fish to create a brand that really speaks to the future of Broad Ripple but also gives a nod to the past. Fanning is excited for everyone to see the new logo and marketing material. The new look will be unveiled at the spring public meeting at the Indianapolis Art Center on April 16 at 6 p.m.

“I would describe it as clean and modern with a nod to Broad Ripple’s past including some references to the uniqueness of our geographical location,” Fanning says.

The biggest part of the rebrand is the new logo for the whole cultural district, but the BRVA is also getting a refresh and community events will get a new look too. They will be revamping those so that their branding is very much aligned. Everyone will understand instantly which events are official Broad Ripple events versus other events that the BRVA is helping to promote in the village.

“We are really excited to have a unified, clean, modern and fun brand to start the new year,” Fanning says. “Because of our anniversary, it is completely appropriate that we chose this year of all years to rebrand the most recognizable neighborhood in the state of Indiana.”

The Broad Ripple Village Association is located at 818 Broad Ripple Avenue. You can give them a call at 317-251-2782 or visit them online at broadrippleindy.org.

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