Athene North Shore Recreation Area

Building an inclusive brand around the nation’s most accessible park.

Services
Branding
Creative Services

You’re welcome here.

When Polk County Conservation decided to build the nation’s most accessible outdoor recreation space they thought of everything—quiet rooms, adaptable bicycle rentals, a sensory garden, family restrooms, accessible pontoon boats, and more. Now, with opening day just a few months away, they needed a brand that would inspire everyone, regardless of cognitive and physical ability, to come out and explore nature on their own terms.
Our Challenge

Ears to the ground.

Research uncovered insights from parents and caregivers of those with cognitive and physical differences. They told us they didn’t want a park just for them—they wanted a park for everyone, where all friends and family members could discover nature together. So how do you brand an inclusive park without calling it that?

Our Solution

A park for all people.

We jumped into the deep end and developed a brand platform based on “Pure Joy” that positioned the space as a park for all people, giving stakeholders a common language to talk about the park to media, caregivers, and visitors. In just the first two months, park traffic was up 49,856 visits from the previous year and roughly 250 individuals with physical or cognitive abilities were served.

Brand Elements/Logo

Imperfectly perfect.

Organic and imperfect, brand elements that include the park logo feel playful, simple, and welcoming. Incorporating a major corporate supporter while ensuring the fonts and sizes were ADA-compliant on signage, materials, and the website was a challenge we solved in a beautifully natural way.

Imperfectly perfect.
Brand palette

Colorful discoveries.

North Shore’s primary palette features dynamic contrasting colors, with blue conveying calmness and stability and orange feeling warm and energetic. The secondary palette provides flexibility across messages and platforms.

Brand palette
Fonts

Exploring fonts.

The foundation of the brand is built on both custom and standard fonts. Gotham Rounded serves as the primary sans-serif font to enhance readability for those with low visual acuity. The custom font is based on Spector Bold to reflect the brand’s all-natural, organic essence.

Fonts
Iconography

Playful icons.

A natural hand-drawn look enhanced by textures and accent strokes makes the North Shore icon set feel approachable and joyful—right on brand. The iconography also serves as an informative guide around the park for those with varying cognitive and physical abilities.

Playful icons.
Success

All good results.

In just the first two months of operation, park traffic was up 49,856 visits based on the same period in 2022. From May 1 – June 30 of this year, roughly 250 individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities have been served from organizations including the VA, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Adaptive Sports Iowa, On With Life, Mosaic, The Spina Bifida Association of Iowa, and Broadlawns.

All good results.

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