BONNET SPRINGS PARK
A custom wayfinding and signage system for a park rich with history
The backstory
Between 1880 and the early 1950s, the 180-acre Bonnet Springs Park site was home to the Lakeland Railyard, which served as a major hub for the movement of freight up and down the east coast. In 1952 the Railyard closed, leaving the land in an abandoned state and Lake Bonnet derelict and forgotten.
Team: Sasaki
Location: Lakeland, FL
Reference: Andrew Gutterman.
Associate Principal at Sasaki.
agutterman@sasaki.com
Type Variations
Unlike traditional fonts, Lakeland Sans has a double stroke variation. This design feature is not only a stylistic choice, but a material design consideration.
Fonts often get modified when they are cast in metal or built from aluminum sheets. This design is used for direct routing on wood, and metal, accounting for possible geometric deformations.
The Strategy
The park underwent a complete overhaul. Land remediation, pollutant extraction, new grasslands, tree plantings, trails and architecture will revitalize the space.
So how can we give the park a unique identity without creating a logo? or a brand system? All while celebrating its history and significance to the community?
In one of the park's many iterations it once served as an orange grove and fruit production center. Among our research we uncovered crate labels and printed on one of them was a lost typeface, that read clear as day “Lakeland”. This became the inspiration for branding the park without a logo.
Laboring tirelessly for many months the font “Lakeland” was brought back into circulation and deployed exclusively at Bonnet Springs Park. The design celebrates the site’s history with old-school geometric forms, dashes of modern type design and bold graphic variations.