Kuskovo moscow park brand

RUSSIA, MOSCOW

Kuskovo park branding

Branding of the park that you've been living next to

Kuskovo is the town park in the Eastern part of Moscow, situated right next to Sheremetiev Estate with the same name. It's a calm and special place for the people leaving in Veshnyaki and Perovo district, who love this park for its ecological value. Residents praise its original forest. In 2016 open contest for the best design had been launched. We never would take part in any contest, if not a single circumstance, that made us change our convictions and make it without much effort. We'll tell about it further down.

Client: Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection of Moscow

Work: love, design

2016 … 2017

Forest part and the estate cannot be separated mentally, yet it is important that brand doesn't cover the historical architectural part. That is how people see Kuskovo park:

The single circumstance above, we've mentioned above is the personal way we see Kuskovo park according to the fact, that:

This is the park I've been living next to for almost 30 years. When I'm asked about what Russia is for me, I think about two places: Kuskovo park and dacha by the Dmitrov. So my relation with Russia seems quite intimate.

Igor Makovsky

LIVED NEAR KUSKOVO PARK SINCE 1988

Kuskovo park that speaks your language

While relations with the park were personal, our concept was to share personal relation with the park and see if that seeks response in people around.

Living next to the park for so long made me not to hesitate on the true reasons why people love this place, so the main idea was found immediately and I found it right inside my heart.

Igor Makovsky

LIVED NEAR KUSKOVO PARK SINCE 1988

Kuskovo Park that speaks your language

Design that speaks your language

Design based on the straight communication message offers the friendly tone of human communication without being distracted by additional graphics and visuals.

Logo prepresents the message itself and can be changed

Communication speaks your language

Idea was to create a flexible communication system with text only. Wayfinding, like a friend, carefully guides, advises, prompts and helps visitors to relax, give them an opportunity to slow down, exhale and escape from the bustle of hussle.

Set of park signs are united with the idea of slow-pace friendly communication and lack of images

Wayfinding for those who doesn't need to hurry

Wayfinding arrow modules

Adding context and atmosphere

Kuskovo forest park can't be imagined without the Kuskovo Estate and inherits its identity want it or not. It was important to add more personality and connectivity between the project idea with historical context just for more deep connection between the two and some persuasiveness if needed.

Poem excerpts that mix up with the wayfinding to add up atmosphere

The image of Praskovya Zhemchugova inspired the most. She was born in a family of a blacksmith and then taken to the serf theater in Kuskovo in a role of a chambermaid, where she started a career of a singer and soon became a very popular one. Idea was to include some poetic details to the communication and create a system of characters that would make visitors happy and could be used in social networks. In our case, that'll be the birds who live in the park.

Praskovya Zhemchugova, formerly serf actress, lately the soprano opera singer.

The Kuskovo serf theatrical troupé in all its birdiness

Birds that speak your language

The first implementation of the new brand was the project that had to attract attention towards the problem of bird feeding in winter parks and tell visitors about the variety of birds living in there. A set of dairy excerpts had been introduced to the public and put across park for visitor to explore and find them.

As an addition to the dairy excerpts above, the vast amount of bird phrases stickers had been made. They were used to be glued inside and outside the bird feeders to attract people's attention to the new communicative language.

Set of Ilya Kabakov inspired bird talks speaking your language (total of more than 300)

We want to speak your language, too

The idea of talking birds had been so inspiring for people that the three nearby parks, which was under control of a single administration park structure, asked to create their own bird communications. So, the Terletsky Ponds, Izmaylovo Park and Novokosino got their own bird communications, too. It has different visuals, so not to mess with Kuskovo park.

To begin with, everything what happens near Terletsky ponds stays drawn and put in park with brief descriptions.

Become an observer of personal bird correspondence within the Terletsky Ponds:

Series of numbered park canteens in Izmaylovo.

Menús right on Izmaylovo trees

A bit of burocracy at the Novokosino birdfeeders.

Results of the bird communication

Bird social activity in park was highly appreciated both in social networks and among visitors and park who had been noted reading and examing the texts when it was launched. Without the proper authoring and editorial support, the project was later substituted with the much more strong Mospriroda brand, that unites all parks in Moscow.

Expectedly, such author projects can't stand alone without care courator and editor support. That's why it slowly had been taken out after me leaving the project. This taught me that author project are too fragile for place branding.

Igor Makovsky

LIVED NEAR KUSKOVO PARK SINCE 1988

2016: Designers that speak your language

Kuskovo project had been unanimously approved for future use by the number of graphic design experts like Eugeny Korneev, Erken Kagarov, Michael Gubergrits and architector Nikita Asadov.

Project built on typography that keeps up with the classic style of the park, while at the same time looks modern and highlights the park

Erken Kagarov

ARTDIRECTOR AT ARTLEBEDEV, DESIGNER

2024: Kuskovo not speaking our language

7 years later, in early 2024, none of the brand details had been implemented. Those that had been — gone. In 2022 … 2023 a massive it went through a massive reconstruction, yet not a single sign of this personal project has taken into attention. That seems, that either it was too personal for the local moscow-based park, or nobody just knew this project ever existed. Both are sad.

Kuskovo project is the cornerstone one in my practice. It was the first place branding project that showed how both important and interesting to work with the real territories, communities and make them better and more human.

Igor Makovsky

LIVED NEAR KUSKOVO PARK SINCE 1988

In any case we're open to any initiatives to continue this work. All you need it to contact us.

Igor Makovsky

NOT LIVING NEAR KUSKOVO SINCE 2017

Kuskovo speaks media

Media slowly forgets about the Kuskovo brand since nothing happened