Belle Isle Conservancy

For more than 170 years, Belle Isle Park has stood as a 982-acre oasis, in the heart of the Detroit River. As one of the largest island parks in the United States, it’s home to historic landmarks like the oldest continually operating aquarium in North America and the only marble lighthouse in the country.
The Belle Isle Conservancy came to us with a mission to honor the park’s legacy while transforming its visual identity to reflect the vibrancy of Detroit. The brand system we created signals the importance and quality of the vital work they do as island stewards. We grounded the rebrand in the idea that Belle Isle transports you—a place where the city’s rhythm changes and life opens up. Whether it’s kids running free, music playing through car windows, or a quiet moment by the water, the island is Detroit’s backyard from sunrise to sunset, a place where everyone can come to escape the hustle and bustle.
Belle Isle’s brand and visual identity needed to match its ambition to be the world’s most welcoming park. To better reflect this enduring connection with visitors, we redesigned their website and created a strategic, flexible brand system to honor the park’s nuances, architectural details, and generations of memories. At the heart of the logo is the iconic MacArthur Bridge: the portal that welcomes all, physically connecting visitors to one of the world’s most beloved cultural institutions. The new website homepage greets you with the current time and weather on Belle Isle along with a rotating gradient system built directly from sunrises & sunsets which changes in real-time based on the hour.
Since the brand launched, engagement has skyrocketed. Year-over-year (YOY) growth for the Detroit audience on IG (comparing Jan–Feb 2026 to Jan–Feb 2025) is 116.3% for 2026 versus 11.60% for 2025, representing a massive 104% increase.
By moving beyond the identity of “just a park,” this rebrand and new website positions Belle Isle as a premier cultural institution within the Arts & Culture space while celebrating its legacy as an iconic destination that mirrors the very soul of Detroit.