The Crossvine

Nurturing a nature-centered community brand for over eight years.

01.

A new leaf.

lookthinkmake and The Crossvine partnered together back in 2012, when the community was just starting to put down roots in Schertz, Texas, northeast of San Antonio. Located close to a growing Central Texas corridor and neighboring Randolph Air Force Base, The Crossvine is designed to serve a diverse community seeking a connected lifestyle in harmony with nature. The community is planned around an intricate and lushly-landscaped network of trails. From naming and launch, through stewarding the evolution of the brand today, lookthinkmake continues to nurture the growth of this award-winning community.

Image of tire swing between trees and houses and blue sky

Bright blue sky and pool at The Crossvine

The crossvine photograph from the property

10 years

10 years working together, starting in 2012 with the community name and brand.

8 Custom Books

Designed and printed eight classic novels as part of the community wide lending libraries initiative.

25 minutes

Produced a 25-minute Oral History documentary sharing the history of Schertz, TX, and a premiere party for over 100 local leaders and residents.

02.

Painting the scene.

How to start when there’s just a landscape of ideas? First, we gathered the entire development, engineering, planning, and community teams together for visioning sessions to discover insights and set the tone for the project. Determining what the brand could be long-term allowed everyone on the team to make choices and recommendations—from street design details to broad thematic initiatives. Together we formed a common vision for an active, welcoming, and natural community.

03.

Brand development

It was important to stress the importance of craft in the brand, so we opted for natural wood as a material whenever possible—even for the team’s business cards. As we built the brand, we also assisted the development team with creating a library of street names and other terms that connect with the ideas of community, terrain, and the natural landscape.

The Crossvine’s name came directly from the balance between nature and community. The winding blooms of a crossvine plant conjured notions of wandering trails and chance meetings, while reinforcing the mission of the area’s native paintings. From there, we created a brand that serves as an elegant monogram, and balanced the mark with a natural palette and friendly, classic typefaces.

04.

Leaf through some books

Discovering stories can take many forms at The Crossvine. Walks with neighbors create memories and those walks are also designed to lead to specially-designed community lending libraries throughout the neighborhood. Integrated into benches and mailboxes, these libraries feature shared texts from The Crossvine team and residents alike.

In addition, we helped create a series of custom-designed classic books and bookmarks that encourage reading in parks and natural spaces, or wherever you may roam. Copies were also distributed to local schools, the Schertz public library, and the Randolph Air Force Base USO. Now in its fourth year, this series of books enjoys a two-title release annually. Total number of books is eight now!

the crossvine classic book jackets reimagined

05.

Campaign Implementation

Over the course of our partnership, we have developed three integrated initiatives to help The Crossvine grow from one milestone to the next. Each initiative is centered around the connections between the community and the physical environment.

From a flexible and robust community website to a variety of digital campaigns that cross channels, The Crossvine has employed many outreach efforts to connect with the world. As the community continues to grow, so have our efforts to share The Crossvine story with all of those seeking what the community offers—a natural place to call home.

We began with open-skies photography and a handmade woodcut alphabet. By highlighting the true beauty of the environment, and the discoveries to be made, through laser-cut and hand-stained letters, we were able to bridge a spontaneous spirit with a nod to the craftsmanship to come.

WIND UP HERE.

Most recently we crafted a campaign that embraces nature and community while raising up the storytelling and memory-making of a maturing neighborhood. Now that some residents have called The Crossvine home for a decade, it was time that the memories and stories of these neighbors took center stage.

05.

Custom collages with photos from The Crossvine as well as items gathered from the area created visuals that evoke a day—or a life—lived at The Crossvine.

06.

Connecting Community

We developed a series of community-building events to help neighbors meet one another and connect with the greater Schertz community. From themed movie and trivia nights, to weekends centered around gardening, bike and home safety, and fitness, The Crossvine has become a symbol of both community-gathering and community-building.

To highlight the history of Schertz, The Crossvine interviewed residents and city officials to create a documentary—and launch event—celebrating the stories of the historic Texas town. The premiere party hosted 100 community officials, media, and local residents.

07.

Website

We developed a website built upon a search-optimized framework and used paid search to position The Crossvine at the center of the conversation, and to create awareness for those likely to consider The Crossvine, we implemented social media advertising. And since natural and organic are some of our favorite words, we used organic social media as a means to share The Crossvine’s story, provide helpful resources, and nurture an audience of residents and future-residents alike.

Visit the Website

08.

Digital Tendrils

09.

Let’s grow some more rings on these trees.

Since its founding in 2012, The Crossvine continues to thrive and fulfill its early vision of a beautifully planned, natural neighborhood that evolves to serve the needs of its residents, as well as the greater Schertz and San Antonio community. We’re about a decade into the campaign now, and we’ve got many years left to go.