The Parks and Recreation Department of Miami-Dade County is huge — and some of the most highly coveted and iconic real estate in the area is under its management. The last time they updated their brand identity? Maybe the 1990s; no one who works there actually knows!

Not only did they need a modern brand voice and visual toolkit, they needed brand architecture help. Because to say Miami-Dade Parks is diverse is an understatement. They run many of Miami’s beaches, a prestigious historical estate, marinas filled with million dollar yachts, one of the nation’s top zoos, a PGA championship golf course, and of course the usual suspects: hundreds of neighborhood parks, basketball courts, and sports fields.

The problem is, because of a near absence of branding, no one who lives in Miami actually knows the parks department is that big, or that they benefit from as many Parks facilities as they likely do in their day to day lives. Making it that much harder for the Parks department to protect their crucial tax revenue.

Brand identity and architecture first needed to educate and build affinity across the full spectrum of county residents: from soccer playing kids to professional sailors. Next, brand positioning needed to encourage residents to spend more time and more spare change in more and more Parks.

After many favorited logo options were explored, my team ultimately solved the challenge with (1) a new logo that pays homage to their vintage 90s mark, (2) new brand voice and positioning that invites residents to discover all that the Parks department offers, and (3) a brand launch concept that locals — who live in a place where tourists flock in spite of the tourists — can completely relate to.