Portland Botanical Gardens

February 2019 - Present

As one of the co-founders of Portland Botanical Gardens, I had the unique opportunity to build the brand and marketing department from the ground up. I assembled a team of 40 creatives to launch the new brand, which ultimately led to the launch of our website, webshop, social media, newsletter, and more.

Portland Botanical Gardens is a certified 501(c)(3).

Roles: Director of marketing, writer, editor, producer, SEO strategist, strategist, board member

Brand identity

We started with a very basic and sterile approach to the brand while we built the underpinnings of the organization. Once we had a feel for who we are, I drafted up some early brand concepts for the new look and feel. Working with a team of very talented and creative volunteers, we were able to launch a new brand identity for Portland Botanical Gardens (PBG).

Rebrand (2024)

In 2024, I led a rebranding campaign that shifted us from a classic botanical look to a more modern look and feel. This move was in-line with most other botanical gardens, which have shifted toward more contemporary and minimalist vibes. As we shifted our messaging to highlight native plant communities and regional habitat restoration, part of the plan for this rebrand was to change our logo to include a native plant (Fritillaria affinis) instead of a tropical plant (Passiflora vitifolia).

Meet the New PBG Brand (blog post)

Website

We took inspiration from the websites of New York Botanical Garden and the Sydney Botanical Garden—I felt like each website had its pros and cons. When we designed and built the new website, we wanted it to be a database for anything PBG for the next decade. The sitemap was designed to archive hundreds of resource pages that could be easily found by users. I wrote all content on the website—across all 122 currently active pages—and made it SEO compliant. My adherence to SEO best practices has helped us maintain a top spot in the Google SRPs for many keywords connected to our organization.

Rebrand (2024)

Our rebrand campaign featured a website overhaul as well so the new look and feel could be populated across the brand. Due to funding and time constraints, we were unable to adjust the UX or site structure to match the brand vibe.

Webshop

We launched the PBG Webshop a few months after the new website went live. All of our merchandise was illustrated, designed, and produced by our internal marketing department. We launched a program called the Commemorative Series, which features 13 unique illustrations connected to an annual theme. Not only are these illustrations available on many of our products, but they’re also used on our promotional materials and website. One of the driving forces behind this program was that we did not want to use 1800s botanical imagery, rather we wanted to create our own, proprietary images that better align with our brand identity, and that are not tied to colonialism.

Rebrand (2024)

During the rebrand campaign, we also updated the webshop to reflect the new look and feel.

Social media

As the land acquisition process continues, we have had limited resources for marketing needs. However, we have been able to maintain a steady and respectable social media presence. I work with my marketing team to develop and maintain social media strategies and content calendars.