CASE STUDY: Urban Field
Urban Field Studio emerged in 2014 as a collaborative venture of urban designers based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded by Jane Lin and Heidi Sokolowsky, the studio evolved over the years, welcoming architects Frank Fuller, Ryan Call, and John Bela to its ranks between 2015 and 2023. This transformation propelled Urban Field into a collective of experts boasting global experience in master planning and public realm design. Their multifaceted expertise encompasses development and planning strategy, master planning, engagement, education, advocacy, mobility, and the public realm.
Our challenge was to design an strategy that clarified the messaging, and a brand identity that visually communicated their organizational structure. In Urban Field’s innovative approach to operate as a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) but in real life, each member maintains their own business entity while working together under the Urban Field umbrella. This decentralized model ensures transparency, collective decision-making, and community-centricity.
We’ve been very interested in how to represent new organizational structures, or as they are called in Spain NER’s (Nuevo Estilo de Relaciones). These structures prioritize self-management and non-hierarchical models, or sometimes called flat organizations. Here, we experimented with a horizontal scroll, to give the user a hint, this is not your usual Urban Design team, they are experts each with over 20 years under their belts, ready to roll their sleeves and be committed and playful.
We enthusiastically embarked on the journey to conceptualize and articulate their message. Our collaboration mirrored their ethos, fostering a great loop of collaboration and feedback throughout the process. With Urban Field's vision as our guide, we developed a comprehensive branding strategy, website, and collateral that encapsulated their principles of integrity, playfulness, and empathy.
SuperWorks delivered a cohesive brand identity for Urban Field Studio, reflecting their innovative approach to urban design. Through meticulous attention to detail and a commitment to true partnership, we created a visual and verbal language that resonates with their values and processes. The thing about true collaboration is that gives ideas the chance to be “(…) like grass. It craves light, likes crowds, thrives on crossbreeding, grows better for being stepped on.” [Ursula Le Guin].
Our in-house team handled all aspects of the project, including graphics, illustrations, animations, photography, and copywriting, ensuring a seamless and holistic approach to brand and website development.
DREAM TEAM *
DREAM TEAM *
Manuelita Antonio Rangel Sosa: Strategy, Branding & Visual Identity, UI / UX Design, Photography & Creative Direction
Stella Sun: Research, UX Design, Visual Identity, Illustrations & Animations
Omar Ansari: Research & Client Workshops Facilitation