When you create a planned neighbourhood around a mature wooded area in an urban setting, it only makes sense that the branding would be inspired by trees.

That was a key element for the positioning, name, brand identity and marketing launch for Canada Lands Company’s new Arbo development, which will see 4,000 homes built across about 25 hectares next to Downsview Park in north Toronto.

“It was really important that we design a brand identity system with a strong sense of place,” said creative director Tim Hoffpauir of One Twenty Three West, the agency behind the work, in a release. “One that envisions an inviting neighbourhood integrated with nature.”

The Arbo wordmark is the focal point of the new brand, “inspired by the paths and roads that weave through the existing woodlot, and functions as a flexible storytelling device,” said One Twenty Three West, which is also working with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to develop an Indigenous expression of Arbo. “The ‘O’ represents the open and inclusive nature of the neighbourhood, and features illustrations of the nature and wildlife that all coexist within the woodlot.”

“We are passionate about creating a thriving community that brings people together, and this identity embodies that,” said James Cox, vice-president of real estate (central region), with Canada Lands Company.