The Well at Oxon Run

The Well at Oxon Run is a community farm and wellness space in Washington, D.C. As a DC Greens program, The Well strives to improve local food access and wellness through educational programs, crop production and food distribution. We worked with The Well to develop a series of interpretive signs that welcome visitors to explore, learn and engage with The Well.

APPROACH

Inspired by The Well's commitment to sustainable gardening and health equity, we crafted three guiding concepts for the signage: growing, visionary and healing. We collaborated with The Well to determine the quantity, size and placement of signs, aiming to create a self-guided tour that is both visible and seamlessly integrated with the space. We embraced DC Greens’ clean and accessible brand typeface, Avenir, along with their two official shades of green...

VISUAL LANGUAGE

During our first visit to The Well we were struck by the juxtaposition of organic, natural elements and contemporary, architectural structures including an industrial pavilion and wrought iron trellis. The Well also features murals depicting local plants and animals painted by D.C. artist, Kaliq Crosby. Inspired by this integration of hard and soft, manmade and natural, we designed the signs with hand-drawn illustrations, bright colors and dark metal posts.

We worked with local DMV illustrator, Allison Bown, to create a series of custom, painterly illustrations that feature produce grown at The Well, native flowers, garden helpers like bees and snails, and D.C.’s state bird, the wood thrush. Drawn with a vibrant palette inspired by produce, the illustrations frame the content and come alive when paired with the rich, green background color of the signs. The dark backgrounds also ensure that the signs stand out against a bright sky or lush greenery. Together, these elements capture the artistic spirit of the space and create a visual language that encompasses The Well’s multifaceted identity