Bringing Thích Nhất Hạnh’s Vision to Life

It is sometimes most effective to describe your sector niche by stating what you are not. One of the goals in our brand landscape analysis work was to understand the environment that Deer Park Monastery operates in and to find clear ways to distinguish them from others in the sector. By learning what they are not, and the aesthetics that didn’t resonate with them, we were able more clearly position them both in terms of their visual identity and messaging.

When we approached the Deer Park Monastery logo, we knew that it was important to honor the long-standing legacy of the organization and their existing wordmark. The calligraphy that produced their existing mark was done by hand, by one of their monks. The nature of the calligraphy made it difficult to read in some contexts. We worked with them to refine the wordmark to increase legibility — especially at small sizes.

The original wordmark also included the word ‘Monastery’ rendered through calligraphy. This was one of the reasons it was difficult to scale. In collaboration with the Deer Park team, we paired a modern typeface with the calligraphy. The goal was to make the long name more easily scannable. The results are a wordmark that’s more nimble in its application while honoring the original wordmark.

Another aspect of making the logo was wanting to make it more extendable in digital spaces. We added the one-pillar pagoda icon to the logo lockup to accomplish this goal. It also serves as the favicon in the tab on website browsers. The icon is a more formalized version of a stained glass window in their main meditation hall. A pagoda also sits uphill from the main campus. In addition, Plum Village — Thich Nhat Hanh’s first monastery outside of Vietnam — uses a similar icon as part of their visual identity. By creating this new icon, we are representing the entire monastery as well as Deer Park’s place in the global Plum Village community.

To make the site feel like the monastery, we took direct inspiration from the natural colors of the rolling chaparral foothills in which Deer Park rests. The final color palette is calming and peaceful with intentional vibrancy that gives it life and energy.

Throughout the site, calligraphy brushstrokes are used to connect the site to the wordmark and ease the transitions between sections. Intentional elements like rounded corners on photos, oval buttons, and portal inspired archways keep the site feeling friendly and inviting.

Icons found across the site were inspired by a stamp found on some of the paper that Thich Nhat Hanh used for calligraphy — the Emperor’s seal, meaning Imperial Brush Treasure, used from 1722 -1735.

Different parts of the Deer Park site required their own strategy based on the goals of the section. 

Previously, Thich Nhat Hanh’s story was a long scrolling page. To honor him, we felt his history should have an editorial look and feel. The result is an experience unlike any other on the site.

A core element of the site is the extensive Learn & Listen section, a portal to explore the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, the Plum Village community, key Buddhist texts, and more. This page is purely functional yet maintains the open and spacious feel of the site, and Deer Park itself.

One goal of the site is to convert people from website visitors to in-person visitors. The Plan Your Visit page was designed to make this transition smooth, set expectations, and make the experience of visiting as easy as possible.

Deer Park Monastery is one of 12 Plum Village mindfulness practice centers around the world. As a result, people who are part of the Deer Park community are included in the Plum Village community as well. Yet, Sanghas — communities of people practicing mindfulness together — are central to mindfulness. 

A key feature of the Community page is a custom interactive map that we designed and built from the ground up. The map helps practitioners around the world search for Plum Village practice centers as well as a Sangha near them.

The content strategy for the site was two-fold. Many pages are purely informational. Others are both informational and inspirational. 

The experience of visiting Deer Park is challenging to express in words. The About page introduction is both informative and aspirational, saying just enough to feel like a warm invitation into the space and the website.

Several places across the site reference Thich Nhat Hanh and help site visitors understand his important role and legacy.

With extensive learning content embedded in the site, sub-menus are used on content rich pages, such as the Mindfulness page. This keeps the site from becoming overwhelming while also opening access to the deep trove of materials available to site visitors.

The new site and updated wordmark with icon is designed to serve the Deer Park and global Plum Village community. With the goal of connecting more people than ever to Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings, we worked with the Deer Park team on a rollout strategy that went beyond an announcement to become the first effort in a long-term awareness campaign.