Sycamore & Oak Brand Identity Development
Creative Director / Emerson Collective / Washington, DC
Located on the historic, former St. Elizabeth’s campus, in the “Soul of the City”, Southeast Washington, DC, Sycamore & Oak is a new 22,000 square-foot retail village, housing 13 local businesses, all owned by residents of Ward 7 and 8.
What began as a shared vision with Congress Heights community called Parcel 15, evolved into a partnership with community leaders, Adjaye & Associates, internal stakeholders, local government officials, and developers, in need of a name and identity system.
Brand Creative Studio, partnered with Champions Design and Vocal Type for a rigorous research, naming and design exploration.
What do you call a mass-timber structure with an open-air canopy offering protection from the elements and cultivating a sense of community within community? How do you brand an interim retail village which will eventually grow into a 6000,000+ square foot, mixed use sustainable development?
Most importantly, how do you design for a space destined to become one most vibrant destinations in Washington, serving as an example of inclusive development, participatory economics, community engagement, healing, and transformation?
Listen and learn. Listen and learn. And listen and learn some more.
After months of research, conversation, strategic development and exploration, we landed at the intersection of the semiotics of trees and the ancestral power of hair as crowns in Black culture.
Inspired by Leonardi & Stagi’s, “The Architecture of Trees” and the aesthetic history of the “afro,” a hairstyle with African origins, popularized in the 60’s and 70’s as an expression of Black beauty, power, liberation, creativity, pride, and activism, we created a visual language consistent with the living history of Congress Heights.
To compliment the powerful and inspiring symbolism of the graphic mark, Vocal Type developed a word mark inspired by iconic DC Go-Go posters.
The identity took center stage at the grand opening, providing the perfect background to launch the area’s newest, cultural, epicenter.
At their 1 year anniversary, there had been over 75,000 visitors, over 250 community events, support for more than 30 black owned business, and over 300 security and retail employees trained.
Champions Design / New York + Vocal Type / Washington, DC
