Living Flow

Placemaking Collaborative Studio - FA25

A connection point between all the moving parts on the Lick Run Connector Trail. The wildlife, plants, bikers, walkers, drivers and how they coexist in this space. When all of these living things are in this space together, it creates flow. It’s also a living connection between four neighborhoods in Cincinnati and the history that brought them here. Living Flow must be symbolically representative of their community, without designing over it.

Meet the Team

My role on the project was to be the “team lead” focused on bringing our four disciplines and talents together to form the final product. I also developed our presentations and branding for the series.

Group photo of four individuals with colorful labels and circles highlighting their photos. From left to right: a young woman with brown hair, wearing a black blazer, labeled 'Grace Nunn' in yellow; a woman with glasses and long, wavy hair, smiling, labeled 'Grace Delaney' in green; a woman with dark hair and a white blouse, standing outdoors among trees, labeled 'Gabriela Gibson' in pink; and a young man with short hair and glasses, wearing a blue hoodie inside a room, labeled 'Brady Mayhew' in blue.

What is Living Flow?

A connection point between all the moving parts on the trail. The wildlife, plants, bikers, walkers, drivers and how they coexist in this space. When all of these living things are in this space together, it creates flow. Flow anchors the trail, balancing movement, growth, rhythm, and playful interactions with nature.

A squirrel standing on the ground in a forested area, a cluster of yellow flowers, two people walking on a dirt path in a park during sunset, and a blurred city street at night with moving cars.

Who is Living Flow?

Living Flow is also a living connection between four neighborhoods in Cincinnati and the history that brought them here. Living Flow must be symbolically representative of their community, without designing over it.

Four pie charts showing neighborhood zones labeled Westwood, West Price Hill, East Price Hill, and South Fairmount.

Concept Map

From all of our experiences on the trail, we came up with four key moments that describe what we felt and then categorized them with a color. Each site tells a different story, highlighting someone special, creating an environment that is useful to the community, and telling their history.

A detailed map with color-coded labels and symbols indicating various features and landmarks, accompanied by a key explaining the symbols for totam markers, light sculptures, ribbon benches, planter benches, sidewalk graphics, and different zones such as rest, interest, gather, pause, historical, urban, in-between, and nature.

Brand & Story

How might we visualize the connection of the neighborhoods, the moving pieces on the trail, and the concept of flow? How do we ensure we aren’t designing over the neighborhood?

Close-up view of four color samples with hex codes, including blue, yellow, green, and pink, on a black background.

Brand Application

Originally inspired by the Fibonacci Sequence, this curve language is representative of the perfect imperfection that is found in nature. Living Flow is all about the breadcrumb moments. Rotate shape to create movement and flow on page.

Colorful animal shapes, including a yellow bird, green turtle, a blue butterfly, and a pink deer.

Surface Design

To guide through the trail, visitors can follow poetry and shape to each totem. Poetry relevant to the area guides the community to the nearest totem, giving a more in-depth explanation of the site and important figures.

A woman with a backpack standing outdoors near a large bush with heart-shaped leaves, with a pink circular overlay featuring the word 'INTEREST' in white capital letters.

System of Identifiers

Close-up of a textured gray surface with engraved text, a large pink circle with the word 'PAUSE' in white, and a white circular object with an arrow pointing to it.

Map of a mountain biking trail with various features, including trail start and end points, mountain and forest areas, and specialized trail sections.

A stylized map with five marked locations labeled Queen City, Judah Touro, Dunham Rec, Rapid Run, and Trail Start, each with a pink dot and lines connecting them on a black background.

Important People

Five totems along the trail point to historical relevant locations. Each includes a specific marker that is important to the site, acting as an identifier.

When understanding the story of “Living Flow,” we had to consider the people that made up the history of this specific area of land for our marker system.

Black and white photos of five historical figures arranged from left to right: Virginia Payne, Rosemary Clooney, Rees E. Price, Judah Touro, and George Remus, with their names labeled below.

A multi-page comic-style illustration showing a sequence of events involving a character, with colorful icons like leaves, triangles, and arrows, and blurred text.

Add’l Touchpoint

Light source that would appear in clusters alongside the trail or other variables. Sculpture by day, light by night. The trail is notoriously dark at night, so the team found it imperative that we lit it up.