Synovus Park
Client: Diamond Baseball Group, Columbus Clingstones
Years: 2024-2025
Services: Wayfinding Strategy, Signage Design, Experiential Brand Activation, Sponsorship Masterplan, Naming Rights and Sponsorship Integration
Columbus, Georgia welcomed professional baseball back with the relocation and rebranding of the Atlanta Braves’ AA Affiliate as the Columbus Clingstones. Historic Golden Park, a 100 year-old structure was restored, renovated, and reopened as Synovus Park.
While the original grandstand remains, the rest of the park is new. I led the effort to integrate the Clingstones identity into the park, create a new signage & wayfinding system, and strategically integrate sponsors.
I began the project by creating a masterplan, identifying high impact areas where branded elements would help create a sense of place and promote pride in the city and team. This process also helped the team and our client identify separate places of value for sponsorship, avoiding competing visuals and messages and optimizing sponsorship revenue.
We integrated the Clingstones brand throughout the ballpark, celebrating the new team name and found ways to honor the 100 year history of the park. We drew inspiration from elements of classic ballparks — manual scoreboards, lineup cards, painted murals, and chain-link fences — to create branding that fit the character of the park but connected it to the future. The result is a place that the community will be proud of for years to come.
Once installed, the team invited fans to sign their own baseball and fill the monument as a way to invite the community to contribute to a permanent feature in the ballpark.
Hank Aaron is one of the greatest to ever play baseball. He built his legend in Georgia. On his pursuit of reaching the major leagues Aaron played on the Synovus Park field (then-called Golden Park) in 1953. He was one of three black players who helped break the color barrier in the South Atlantic League that year. Aaron is a model for all who aspire to compete at the highest level, and so when we were looking for an icon that could honor history and inspire the staff, players, and fans in Columbus (the Braves AA affiliate), portraying Hank Aaron became an obvious choice.
We worked with Getty Images, the Aaron Estate, and the Atlanta Braves to find archival images of Hank suitable for the space and obtain necessary approval of the artwork.
Echoing the dot pattern design motif used elsewhere in signage, the lobby staircase mural depicts Aaron in his iconic batting stance, looking forward with determination. As fans ascend the stairs, messages detailing Aaron's story and accomplishments are visible in the dots.
The ballpark has a single entrance and grandstand. For a small and simple venue, it was important for the wayfinding strategy and signage to be straightforward and feel seamlessly integrated, from large directional plaques down to the smallest details at each seat.
The signage design is inspired by old tickets, scoresheets, and classic baseball ephemera to fit the 100 year history of the park. In baseball numerology, the number 3 appears frequently, representing 3 strikes, 3 outs, and 3 bases, among other occurances. The use of 3 circles became a recurring pattern applied throughout the sign system. We chose ballpark green to match the park’s canopy and seats, while including panels of southern oak wood references baseball bats and provides warmth and contrast.
Stadium Map
Suite identification signs include a removable name plate
allowing flexibility for sponsors or suiteholders to be updated from season to season.
Team Nick Abele, Project Lead, Designer
Robert Sitek, Designer
Tiffany Zen, Planning
Leo Mangimelli, Construction Detailing
Fabricators: Identity Group, DCL
Local Artist, Painter: Cannon Arts
Project recognized by Communication Arts, Design Annual 2025.
Work completed at Populous