Great Parks is getting ready to plant a big crop of acorns — on signs, that is. New signs will begin going up this fall at parks across Hamilton County.
The Board of Park Commissioners approved nearly $2.5 million to purchase and install 25 signs at major park entrances. Great Parks of Hamilton County adopted its new acorn logo and "Find Your Wild" slogan in late 2022. It replaces the blue and green bird logo introduced in 2013.
Todd Palmeter, Great Parks CEO, says the existing signs are probably 15 or 16 years old.
"They were already existing signs that said 'Hamilton County Park District' on them. Then, because they were still in good enough shape, we re-faced them (in 2013) — so it essentially has a large sticker that we used to re-face the sign. Those were supposed to last five to 10 years."
The rebranding process came on the heels of the park district's comprehensive master planning process.
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"I think they're great designs," says Melissa Wegman, board president, of the new signs. "They complement the environment that they're going into ... and they also have, from the national parks, a very National Park (vibe)."
The new signage will be rolled out in two phases. The first phase includes large scale entryway signs at main entrances to such parks as Winton Woods, Sharon Woods and Miami Whitewater Forest. It's expected to be completed by spring 2025. The second phase will include smaller signage, such as informational and wayfinding signs, trailhead markers and more. Also, parks where work is underway, like Shaker Trace Nursery and the Werk Road property, won't get permanent signage until they're ready to open/re-open.
"We want the sign to stand alone," Palemeter says. "Most people, when they go to a park, will use an app or a map and technology to get here, so it's more about letting them know when they arrive. We want the natural look of the materials. We want the acorn logo to be the most prominent item on the sign versus in the past, maybe the name of the park was the most prominent thing on the sign. You'll still be able to read the name of the park very clearly, but, for us, it's more about brand identity and letting the public know when they have arrived or when they pass a protected green space that is under the authority of Great Parks."
The signs will come in a variety of sizes and iterations, all following a similar scheme. They include a limestone base, a rust-colored aluminum designed to look like weathered steel, and treated Accoya wood panels emblazoned with the acorn logo.
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Accoya is "a chemically treated wood that has achieved the durability of some of the tropical hardwoods that are ... the best of the best used in an outdoor environment, but doesn't have any of the complications of harvesting tropical hardwood," says Janet Broughton Murray, chief of planning and design with Great Parks. "It's a more sustainable option that gives us that durability."
Signs that aren't replaced will be re-faced to match the new branding. Palmeter says some signs will go away all together.
"We also are eliminating some signs. We realized we probably have too many signs, and we don't need four signs when you arrive at the entrance to a park, so we're actually eliminating a fair amount of signs across the park district."
About the acorn
Great Parks applied for and was recently awarded a trademark from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on the acorn logo.
"We've broken down the acorn in pieces," Palmeter explained to WVXU in 2022. "If you look at the middle of the acorn, you could interpret it as hills, waves of water, (or) tree tops."
The main color scheme is black and white, so it can be manipulated to fit different color palates or events, like when used as an overlap to a photograph, for example.
