Avondale

Why does our city even need a brand?

Especially when we already have a deeply held sense of identity all our own? It was the question that residents of Avondale were posing to the city and to Son&Sons at the start of this project and represented a key challenge and consideration for our team. When City Hall needs a dynamic identity to drive growth, amplify efforts and meet daily communication needs, how do you build goodwill and effectively engage residents?

A community wide workshop was the cornerstone of our approach, supported by surveys and ongoing informal conversations with Avondale residents, business owners, and visitors. We prioritized activities and questions that got to the heart of what people love about the city so we could ensure the best parts of Avondale made their way into the visual and verbal identity. The event itself was a demonstration of Avondale’s vibrant, neighborly, and evolving character.

With community buy-in and input as our foundation, we set to strategy and creating the new visual and verbal identity. Our insight: that most cities aren’t built for how we actually want to live. They aren’t designed to foster time with loved ones, a sense of belonging, daily moments of beauty and calm, or feeling safe and connected to our neighbors. Avondale is different. It was built around the idea that you can design a place where people naturally flourish, participate, and find joy. The system we created is built on that same audacious idea.

A playful collage of Avondale historic doodles—hearts, flowers, mugs, spoons, and bees—sits on a chartreuse backdrop.

A light blue baseball cap features the embroidered “City of Avondale Estates” seal in orange stitching

Avondale “Coming Soon” Window Graphics. An orange storefront window displays a bold “Coming soon” message with Avondale’s signature historic doodles around the edges.

Avondale Social Media Grid. A grid of Avondale social media posts highlights city events, announcements, and colorful character illustrations.

Good Bones

To keep Avondale’s sense of identity, we drew the custom wordmark from the array of Tudor style type found on residential street signs and founding documents. It’s unmistakably Avondale while staying simple and approachable rather than heavy or falsely Old English. In addition to the wordmark, seal, and logo mark, we also created a special “AE” badge, a nod to the insider shorthand for Avondale.

Avondale billboard Series. A large outdoor mural features Avondale branding, event photography, and colorful illustrations promoting local nightlife and community.

Avondale Flyers (Business, Walking Guide, FAQs). A set of Avondale informational flyers uses bold typography and bright color blocks to promote business resources, walking guides, and FAQs.

Credit where it's due

Everyone already loved Avondale. But most didn’t know that so much of what they cared about was made possible by The City of Avondale Estates. We fixed that with a system that gives the city a signature to put on its work. Now all the city’s efforts, including parks and greenspaces, trail maintenance, construction and improvements, and events, are linked together. The brand let’s people know that the City of Avondale Estates is showing up for its businesses, visitors, and residents every day.

Like what you see? Look at some more

Three ATI Posters at Bus Shelter. A set of three vibrant ATI posters highlights train, bus, and ferry services using bold geometric patterns.

Rethink Your Milk. Bold typographic graphic with swirling pink-orange background promoting MuYu’s modern milk alternative.

View all work

Work

Studio

Let's Talk

Avondale

Good Bones

Credit where it's due

Like what you see? Look at some more