LA Rec & Parks
Branding ‘Everything Under the Sun’ for LA ParksOur roles
Overview
How do you unify a brand that’s truly everything under the sun – from tennis courts to hiking trails to even its own aquarium? That’s been the challenge for LA Rec & Parks, which for decades has served Angelenos with affordable activities and scenic attractions. Pastilla was tapped to create a scalable solution. With over 123 recreation centers and 450 parks, such as Griffith Park and Echo Park, we knew creating a strong visual system would help create better recognition and cohesion. We assembled a team of diverse, multilingual creatives that could speak to the vibrant communities of LA and hit the park ground running.
Our mission was to capture the sense of community & connection LA Rec & Parks offers all.
The new LA Rec & Parks logo was developed under the tenure of Mayor Eric Garcetti with 72andSunny, but with foundational assets yet to be developed. Pastilla modified the logo to be inclusive of its recreation and parks teams, as well as to scale for the digital space. From there, we got to work expanding the identity with fresh new colors, typography, patterns, graphics, and practical toolkits. Pastilla developed a simple and modern color palette. Focusing on LA’s abundant and diverse outdoor lifestyle, the system infuses the sun, sand and arid greenery with neutral and vintage tones.
The system pays homage to LA’s brightest asset: The Sun – that shines above LA Rec & Parks infusing them with energy, possibility, wonderment.
We carried these sunny themes from the logo into the graphic exploration. Suns are a repeating symbol throughout the system, beaming through as patterns, circular typographic layouts, or through more playful cues in photography such as a basketball hoop or burger patty on a park grill. The lines below the sun symbol communicate the parks’ massive recreation offerings from sunrise to sunset.
Creating a Unified System
LA Rec & Parks’ many locations and offerings have often posed a challenge for Park marketing staff seeking to create promotional materials consistently. That is, until now. We created a series of scalable templates, toolkits, and brand training videos that’s not only bringing harmony across the organization, but also allowing each division – and in this case, facilities and activities – the opportunity to still infuse their sunny individuality.
This gave LA Rec & Parks the freedom to continue building their brand through diverse partnerships and programming, as park offerings grow into the future.
Whether you’re a hiker in Runyon Canyon, a concert goer in Griffith Park, or a sunbather in Echo Park, the new LA Rec & Parks brand welcomes all from every inch of LA’s sprawling neighborhoods. Pastilla was honored to shine a light on this incredible city department.
