Overview
Design Bloc is a small on-campus design firm at Georgia Institute of Technology where students work with external clients on a variety of projects. For my final year, I worked alongside the Hunter Hills community members to develop their own brand to battle against gentrification and preserve their history.
the problem
The Hunter Hills neighborhood in Atlanta faced a critical challenge stemming from ongoing gentrification, which has significantly eroded the community's voice and cohesion. This process has threatened to dilute the rich historical and cultural fabric that defines this vibrant community. As a result, they needed a unifying mechanism that empowers residents to come together, reclaim their collective identity, and preserve the invaluable history and culture that form the essence of Hunter Hills.
my role
I was responsible for developing the brand book with my team, starting from initial concept sketches of the logo to implementing potential merchandise development that echoes the community’s heritage.
Research
In our collaborative efforts with the Hunter Hills community, our goal was to authentically capture their rich history through the creation of a neighborhood brand. To achieve this, our team conducted extensive ethnographic research, employing multiple approaches:
- Literature reviews helped us understand the context of Hunter Hills and what it meant to be one of the first planned black neighborhoods in Atlanta
- Neighborhood walkarounds helped us understand the landscape and architectural history
- Resident interviews helped us understand their culture and the experiences people shared
insights
Following our comprehensive research, we learned that the Hunter Hills brand should reinforce the historic values of a unified community. Hunter Hills is:
- Reverent. They are devoted to the stewardship of their neighborhood.
- Cooperative. They work together to accomplish more for their community.
- Supportive. They respond to the needs of their neighbors.
- Self-assured. They believe in the inherent worth of their neighborhood.
“We believe in the binding power of community.”
ideation
We started with initial thumbnail sketches, evolving through numerous iterations to shape it into its current form. As it was for the community, we engaged with our stakeholders, the neighborhood association’s president and other members of the community, to gather their thoughts to refine the logo based on their feedback.
final design
After developing our core assets for the brand, we started combining all the features together to represent the historic values of Hunter Hills.
Reflection and Next Steps
Working with the Hunter Hills community was truly an opportunity I can hardly imagine. Being able to witness firsthand how our efforts directly impact and benefit a community was incredibly rewarding. I’m ecstatic about the official brand book handoff, and hope to see it soon!
Update: They’ve official launched their website ↗ with our brand and gave us a quick shoutout in their newsletter ↗