Illustration by Tabi Walters
One mysterious February morning, three modern, minimalist signs appeared on Plymouth and Traverwood roads: “ANN ARBOR INNOVATION DISTRICT” in clean white letters against gunmetal gray, along with a sciency, symmetrical symbol in simple blue.
One stretches the span of a brick wall. The second stands roadside, jutting from a squat black pillar. The third waves from the top of a trio of flagpoles, right beside the American flag. The banner flaps in the wind, unmoved by its casual novelty to the curious neighborhood.
U-M has an Innovation District in its Campus Plan 2050, and the signs are close to North Campus, but the Office of Public Affairs had no idea what they were. An internet search for “Ann Arbor innovation district” reveals plans for the Ann Arbor–Detroit Innovation Corridor, a regional economic collaboration… but that wasn’t it either. Perhaps something to do with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the Ann Arbor Art Center’s Creative District signs, or the Social District downtown? No, no, and no. Where did these signs, and that flag, come from?
Related: A2AC Murals Project Celebrates Downtown (Oct. 2020)
The Ann Arbor Innovation District (A2ID) is the branding for two business parks by First Martin Corporation, a commercial real estate company. “We wanted to identify and reimagine our individual business parks” by consolidating them, then “connecting them to the larger community of technology and research out in northeast Ann Arbor,” says president Mike Martin. Mystery solved.
Prior to the A2ID moniker, the business parks where Google, Toyota R&D, FlexSys, SRI International, and others are located had outdated marketing—including pictures of the Mayflower.
“When we looked at our real estate and, in general, what’s going on in the northeast side of town, we felt there was a better story to tell,” says Martin. He enlisted local creative production agency Hook Media for the makeover. “If you look closely, [the logo] consists of two intertwined A’s, as a nod to Ann Arbor.”