HOUSTON BOTANIC GARDEN
Brand Proposal

MWM Partners was tasked with creating a brand which upholds the Houston Botanic Garden’s mission to cultivate and celebrate our relationship with plant life. The elements and palette in this proposal exude a sense of tropicalismo, maximalism, and extend an invitation for the public to join the party — to ‘grow’ all out. An airy primary typeface refers to the institution's reverence to ecological intricacies such as the delicate balance that plants offer to our world.

Creative Direction: Rachel Outlaw Rothberg, Joe Ross

2019

RESEARCH

Family crests became a point of interest in research, as the institution aims to be multi-faceted, yet joined under one mission for the future. Basing the design direction on features of the Garden's grounds, lush imagery, and playful illustration, I began creating elements which could become one unified mark.

The client mentioned an idea of textured and layered components and composition. In talking to the landscape architect, part of their design was about framing and creating “rooms” of plants. This influenced the idea of a multi-layered and maximalist style of foliage in contrast to an otherwise contained environment.

The resulting mark was a lush union of plant life, thriving blooms, and water which facilitates connection and growth. Together, these core elements of a plant-based environment speak through the brand to convey approachability, equilibrium and partnership.

Naming and creating symbols for each garden would follow a similar formula to the emblem. Identifying the shape of the garden plot along with unifying characteristics of the plants living inside.