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Written by Chris Martinez | Senior Marketing Manager
Over the last year, KW Landscape Architects has been on a journey of innovation—one that reaches beyond planting plans and paving patterns. It’s a journey rooted in a bold question: How can we help our clients tell a more complete story of the communities we help design?
That question led our internal marketing team to explore how we could offer more than traditional firm promotion. We began developing a new service—strategic branding and marketing support specifically tailored to our developer partners. What started as a side project has since grown into a dynamic new service line, helping shape the visual and narrative identity of communities across the region.
This initiative is led by Chris Martinez, KW’s Senior Marketing Manager, and Casey Johnson, our Senior Creative Manager. Chris developed the service structure, including pricing and proposal language, and works closely with our project management teams to integrate this offering into client conversations. Casey, an experienced designer, leads the creation of all brand assets and collaborates with both clients and our landscape architecture teams to ensure the identity of each community is reflected not only in visuals, but in the spaces themselves.
Today, their leadership has helped deliver branding packages for more than five master-planned communities in just the last year—and we’re just getting started.
From Place-Making to Storytelling
As landscape architects, our role has always been to shape space—to design environments that are beautiful, functional, and enduring. But in today’s competitive real estate landscape, developers must go further: beyond quality amenities and infrastructure, they must build brands that resonate. They need a compelling story that sets their community apart.
Our marketing team brings deep experience in AEC storytelling, brand development, and digital strategy. We offer a comprehensive suite of services that bring brand and place into alignment that include:
- Logo and icon design tailored to each community’s vision
- Typography and color palette selection for emotional and visual consistency
- Comprehensive brand guides and one-page quick-reference sheets
- Education and wayfinding signage that reinforces identity throughout the built environment
By weaving these elements together, we help ensure a project’s visual identity and physical character are aligned—from signage to streetscapes.
Hudson Park Georgetown, Texas
A recent branding engagement with Brightland Homes illustrates how this service adds value in a tangible way. As Brightland prepared to launch Hudson Park, a new community in Georgetown, Texas, our team identified an opportunity to bring even more value to the project. We proactively introduced the idea of expanding our scope to include branding services—presenting it as a way to strengthen the community’s identity and market appeal from the outset.
During the early visioning session, it became clear that the client needed guidance refining their identity. Casey Johnson led the creative direction, partnering closely with the client and our landscape architecture team to develop initial vision boards exploring a variety of themes for the community. With multiple logo concepts built around these themes, we were able to help narrow their direction and clarify their goals.
Chris Martinez supported this process by guiding the scope, managing expectations, and helping Brightland understand how to apply the brand in various formats—both internally and publicly. The result was a seamless experience for the client, combining creative vision with practical execution.
Read the full project highlight story for Hudson Park, including how branding and landscape design came together to shape a distinctive identity for this Hill Country community.
Collaborative and Strategic by Design
What makes this service unique is its seamless integration with our landscape architecture process. Because our design and marketing teams are aligned from the beginning, we’re able to deliver brand identities that reflect the land, the lifestyle, and the long-term vision of the community.
This collaborative model eliminates inefficiencies and adds creative value. It also positions KW as more than a service provider—we become a strategic partner in placemaking and storytelling.
A Competitive Advantage in a Crowded Market
This branding initiative is more than a creative exercise—it’s a reflection of marketing leadership and a key differentiator for our firm. Few landscape architecture firms offer integrated branding in-house. Fewer still have the capacity to design physical and visual environments with this level of cohesion and care.
In a time when authenticity and experience drive buyer decisions, this kind of storytelling sets both our clients and our firm apart.
Looking Ahead
As we look ahead, we’re excited to expand this service and continue partnering with visionary clients who see the power of story in the places they create. Our goal is to grow this new service arm into a meaningful contributor to the firm’s long-term success.
A KW, every place deserves a name, a look, and a story that reflects its heart—and we’re here to bring that vision to life by Building the Exceptional, Together®.
