Helping a community blossom

Like many Central Florida communities outside of nearby Orlando, the small city of Ocoee, Fla., reached an identity crossroads in the new millennium. No longer content to be regarded simply as a quaint “center of good living,” Ocoee sought to adopt a new image that better represented the vibrant community it had become – one still proud of its natural charm but equally defined by its embrace of modern architecture and its incubation of high-tech industry. 

The city engaged Crabtree Ink – inspired in part by our extensive branding work for the neighboring community of Winter Garden – to create a new visual identity that would be embraced, not only by its more than 47,000 residents, but also by developers and expanding businesses.

Our resulting creation was a contemporary, abstract interpretation of the city’s official flower – a magenta bloom discovered by early settlers on apricot vines along local lakeshores (the name “Ocoee” is based on a Cherokee word meaning “apricot vine place”), bridging the community’s natural history to its promising future. 

Introduced on new gateway signage welcoming motorists to Ocoee, the design soon sparked a multifaceted marketing and advertising campaign, was emblazoned on community banners and fleets of government vehicles, and more. 

Ocoee has increased its growth trajectory in the years since, attracting new residents and businesses to what has become the third-largest community in Orange County (of more than 170).