Lincoln Memorial Garden, located in Springfield, Illinois, is a natural space that was designed by father of Prairie Style landscape architecture Jens Jensen. Jensen is known for his use of native plants, circular meeting spaces called council rings (pictured above), and meandering pathways. The Garden is located on the edge of Lake Springfield and features woodlands, wetlands, and prairie spaces that are populated with native plants. It also includes a Nature Center that has an educational room, gift shop, information desk, and restrooms. Lincoln Memorial Garden is open from sunrise to sunset every day of the year, and the Nature Center is open 10am to 4pm Tuesdays through Saturdays and 1pm to 4pm on Sundays, excluding holidays. The mission statement is, “To honor the memory of Abraham Lincoln by providing a place where young and old alike can enjoy nature in all seasons, learn to be better stewards of the environment, and discover the relationship among native plants, wildlife, water, soil, and sunlight in an atmosphere of peace and beauty.”
For the rebrand, I wanted to reaffirm the connection to Lincoln and create a design that tied back to Jensen’s aesthetic. The logo has been redesigned to include Lincoln’s signature and uses Scala Sans, a typeface that works well with Prairie Style aesthetic. The colors represent the main habitats of the garden: wetlands (blue), prairie (yellow), and woodlands (green.) The brown is a neutral tone that is similar in color to central Illinois soil. Finally, I used speckle-tone paper (French Paper Co. Madero Beach) to add to the natural look/feel.
This design also incorporated images of native plants that have been preserved through pressing. Lincoln Memorial Garden is very focused on preservation: preserving Lincoln’s memory, preserving native habitats, etc. Each deliverable also has references to Jensen’s council rings with circular shapes that are combined with the native plant imagery.
I created a Plant Guide for visitors to use on the trails. It includes images and interesting facts about the most common plants in the garden. It’s organized by habitat and color-coordinated accordingly.
In interviews, visitors complained about getting lost on the trails. At the main entrance there is one large map, and the Nature Center also offers a printed maps. However, the Nature Center isn’t open from sunrise to sunset like the Garden so visitors don’t always have access to the printed maps. These brochures contain a map of the trails, a history of Lincoln Memorial Garden, hours, and membership information and would be placed at the large map at the main entrance.
Visitors also have trouble identifying harmful plants. Because Lincoln Memorial Garden is a natural space and isn’t manicured like a traditional garden, there are plants like poison ivy near the trails. This poster includes photos of the poisonous plants along with instructions on what to do if someone comes in contact with or ingests the plant.
The website was redesigned to be simple to navigate. The main menu includes information about Lincoln Memorial Garden; a list of upcoming events; and links to membership information, volunteer information, and donations. To see the full website please go to daninewman.com/lmg/home.
Disclaimer: The pressed plant imagery is from Flora of Wisconsin: Consortium of Wisconsin Herbaria. This page may contain copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright holders. The content made available on this website is part of an educational exercise and is used for the purpose of teaching and learning under the fair use provision of copyright law.
