Sector: Civic Engagement Company: City of Chicago Discipline: Design and Illustration
City in a Garden, Urbs in Horto
Developed for the City of Chicago’s City in a Garden initiative, this sustainable design competition sought to elevate awareness of the city’s green spaces while embedding the message directly into the urban fabric.
The selected works were deployed across multiple neighborhoods in high-traffic public touchpoints—bus shelters and newspaper stands—requiring each design to be immediately legible, optimistic, and adaptable at street scale. Twelve designs were chosen for citywide display.
Rather than relying on a literal skyline, this design direction abstracted Chicago’s architectural silhouette into a simplified, hand-drawn line system that could coexist with organic color and form. This approach allowed greenery and color to take precedence, reframing the city as layered, human, and alive rather than purely structural. A vibrant, overlapping color palette evoked parks, gardens, and seasonal change while creating visual energy that stood out within the urban streetscape.
City in a Garden
Typography reinforced this balance of structure and play. Expressive handwritten type introduced a personal, human touch, while an elegant serif anchored the composition with civic authority and clarity. Variations in scale and transparency created depth and movement, echoing the dynamic relationship between the built environment and nature. The result was a flexible, joyful public-facing design that positioned sustainability not as a distant concept, but as an everyday experience embedded within the city itself.
