VALPARAISO | Tourism officials, town officials and members of the public gathered Thursday night at the Memorial Opera House to hear branding ideas for Porter County and its eight towns as part of an ongoing effort with consultants from Seattle-based Destination Development Inc.

Roger Brooks, the company's CEO, spoke to the small group about its vision for logos, posters, banners, signs and Web design after months of strategic planning with tourism and business leaders. In April, Destination Development spent a week in Porter County holding public meetings, open houses and talking with residents about how they envision their community.

On Thursday night, much of that effort became a working vision for potential tourism collateral that will aim to attract visitors to the region.

"You have something here that people can't get anywhere else and that's the (Indiana) Dunes. But to get visitors to come here over the competition, the answer is to provide more than just the Dunes," Brooks said. "The focus is to establish in the minds of potential visitors that the Indiana Dunes are a world-class destination. Then move those visitors south of the Dunes. This is where all of the tourism spending will take place."

Brooks then unveiled potential poster designs for Porter County with messages such as, "Perhaps one of the eight wonders of the world," and "Shake off the sand -- south of the Dunes." Advertising concepts include "Engage your senses south of the Dunes" with photos of golfing, wine, and dining.

Brooks and his team then revealed specific logos and branding ideas for each of the eight towns and discussed public response to each.

Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Center Executive Director Lorelei Weimer said the full report on Brooks' finding's as well as details on each of the eight towns, will be made available on the visitor center's Web site at www.casualcoast.com for public input.