JAMES WELDON JOHNSON PARK
New visual system for historic park inspires unity.
Amidst impassioned calls for social justice and racial equality across the country, the City of Jacksonville made the bold decision to remove the Confederate monument from Hemming Park, the city’s first and oldest park. Recognizing the opportunity to forge a new, more harmonious path forward, the park was renamed after James Weldon Johnson, a Black writer, early civil rights activist, and native son of Jacksonville. Brunet-García was entrusted to create a new brand identity for this historic project that would transform the park into a modern, urban space, engage diverse communities, and restore vitality to the city’s most prominent public square.
The bold and rich color palette conveys the celebratory vision of the park’s transformation, inviting all of Jacksonville to join together to create a more inclusive future for every citizen.
The park’s new tagline captures the soul of Johnson’s most notable work, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” often referred to as “The Black National Anthem.” This hopeful and inspiring message celebrates Johnson’s enduring legacy and guides the very spirit of the park as a symbol of unity, fellowship, and progress.
Inspired by the art, music, and literature of the Harlem Renaissance for which Johnson is often associated, we created an identity that conveys diversity and inclusion.
The variable letterforms in the wordmark create a syncopated rhythm and visual musicality, evoking the improvisational nature of jazz, the dynamism of the cross-disciplinary cultural movement that flourished throughout the African-American community in Harlem, and a vision of unity for the future ahead.
