SIGNAGE AND WAYFINDING SYSTEM BY JARA VELASCO
STAMPS SCHOOL OF ART & DESIGN
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Context Type - Characteristics Symbols Colour Signage - Directional - Locational Map - 1st & 2nd Floor - Details - Positioning & Leaflet Donor Wall - Font & Colour Scheme - Display Process
CONTEXT Problem and proposal The project for this class consisted in designing a signage and wayfinding system for the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. The building was built in the 70s and has had various renovations that have made it hard for new-comers to find their way around. The building is confusing; mostly because of its odd shape and seemingly disorganised room numbering system. In addition, the art & design school share the building with the arquitecture school and there isn’t a very clear divide between the two. The buidling is dark; with a majority of flourescent lights making it especially cold looking in the fall and winter. This is also due to the lack of natural light coming into the building. The current signage and wayfinding is practially non-existent, when you first walk into the building there are very few signs telling you where to go. The entrances to the building are also very uninviting, no evidence that you have just entered the art & design school until you go up the stairs and see the stamps sign.
The main concern is to create a signage and wayfinding system which is consistent and legible and easily integrated into the environment. I struggled to choose between a vibrant, distinctive design and a discreet, neutral one. However, I decided that the main function of the buidling is to educate and ibring out the talent of the students, therefore attention should be centered on the students’ work on display. Like in many art & design museums, subtle signage gives more attention to the work on show.
CONTEXT Current signage Exisitng signage for the art school isn’t very clear; it is located in dark areas with flourescent lighting, the pannel is the same colour and material as the ceiling making it merge too much with the environment. The arrows and the layout of the sign are also very confusing. The fact that the words ‘Art & Design’ are treated the same way as the directions also makes it confusing. The fact that we share a Building with the school of architecture already makes the wayfinding confusing. Additionally, the Stamps signage is not very consistent throughout the building.
Examples of different signage desgins in the School of Art & Design
Although smaller, Taubman’s signage is a lot more clear and well organised.
TYPE DIN Alternate Bold My choice of typeface is DIN Alternate Bold because it is stricking and distinct but applied properly and with subtle colours and materials can be elegant and discreet. The first version of this typeface was used in most of Germany’s road signage in the 30s, it is a very legible and clean type, with very lean and geometric lines which I think resemble some of the shapes in the architecture of the building.
DEAN’S OFFICE PAINTING STUDIO 2063 & 2094
Directional signage When there is more than one studio number it drops to the next line to create hierarchy and easier readability name 140% larger than number
AUDITORIUM Locational signage 200pt tracking, 1pt stroke
I have chosen to use only the caps in this typeface as there is not a large amount of text involved. I have chosen a slightly thicker weight and I have augmented the tracking for the locational signage as the size is smaller to increase legibility and quick recognition of a room number when you are moving. I have also chosen to create hierarchy in the directional signage when it comes to the room numbers as in some cases it is a long list and visually it works better to pull them down to the next line.
TYPE Characteristics
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1. Flat apexes. 2. Round glyphs are oval with flat sides. 3. Vertical strokes slightly thicker than horizontal. 4. Bar at the centre of body. 5. Straight let on the ‘R’. 6. Equal stroke width.
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SYMBOLS The symbols I have designed for the signage are derived from the characteristics and shapes in the typeface. Like DIN, they are made of geometric, bold lines. I chose to use the angle of the ‘1’ for the arrow; the short points create a nice balance with the height of the stem.
For the restroom symbols I chose to make very simple geometric figures which were still easily recognizable and in-tune with the other elements of my signage design. The shape and angle of the ‘A’ made a good torso for both the male and female figures, and the ‘O’ kept the narrow circular shape that is characteristic of DIN.
COLOUR My choice in colours is in tune to the discreet and neutral environment I want to create for the school of art. I have chosen slightly different shades of grey for the singage and for the printed map; the signage shade is a bit warmer and more in line with the materials in the arquitecture of the building, whilst the one for print is greyscale and colder.
66635d C=42 M=35 Y=40 K=50
eae7e4 C=10 M=8 Y=10 K=0
66635d C=54 M=45 Y=50 K=36
eaeaea C=10 M=7 Y=8 K=0
I initially wanted black and white signage, however, black comes out very hard and stricking. Also white gets dirty more easily. The use of black and white would have been too contrasting and would have been visually stricking and distracting, whilst grey is more subtle and intergrated in the environment.
SIGNAGE Directional
0.5”
0.25”
The directional signage is separated into pannels by the direction they’re pointing to. If there is more than one direction in a particular place, the pannels are put together as seen on the left, and distinguished by colour. Single pannels are always in the lighter grey, and double pannels start with the darker pannel at the top. The pannel at the top points towards the nearest location. The top pannel is also double as thick as the bottom one to make it stand out more.
SIGNAGE Directional .25�
Pannels have an equal amount of isolation zones on each side of the text. The arrow sits in the center of the space to the left side of the text. It is aligned with the center of the first line of text. The stairs symbol aligns the top of the arrow with the top of the first line of text.
Pannels have an equal amount of isolation zones on each side of the text. The arrow sits in the center of the space to the left side of the text. It is aligned with the center of the first line of text. The stairs symbol aligns the top of the arrow with the top of the first line of text.
SIGNAGE Directional
SIGNAGE Directional The image on the right shows how the signage integrates well with the environment; the colours aren’t too bold and intrusive, they match those of the surrounding. The simplicity and consistency of the paneling brings a modern look to the building and makes it much easier to navigate. The way the pannels are mounted one on top of the other and aligned differently, facilitates the placing of signs in areas of incovenient size as seen in the image on the right.
text
SIGNAGE Locational
0.5� 0.25�
My Locational signage is very similar to the directional; same colour scheme and same principal in layout. The room number is located on the top right hand corner of a dark grey panel. The room name is located on a light grey pannel on top and slightly offaligned to the left. The last number is aligned with the end of the light grey panel. The locational signage is located jus tabove the current class schedule panels outside every classroom.
MAP 1st Floor
MAP 2nd Floor
MAP Details The maps would be displayed in large at the four entrances and in a fold out leaflet for self-guided tours. The information about the rooms can be found on the right hand side of the leaflet next to the map and in the same way on the pannel on the wall. Important rooms such as the Auditorium and the Dean’s Office have both the room number and the name. The Slusser Gallery is in the same size as the room numbers are it doesn’t have a room number and visitors who have never been to the school are likely to be looking for the galley. All the room numbers are pushed to the top left corner of the room.
MAP Positioning & Leaflet The maps will be located on pannels at every entrance with a maker showing the viewer were they currently stand. There is also a physical paper map for self-guided tours.
DONOR WALL Font & Colour Scheme In contrast to the signage, a donor wall should be something for passers-by to stop and enjoy. My aim with this was to create something elegant to honour the donors. I have chosen Quicksand as it contrasts with DIN and it is rounded making it less mechanical. The letters are white, slightly sticking out of the wall, 0.5�, and the outer facing side is painted with a layer of the following colours. The colours I have chosen for the donor wall are reminiscent of a universal hierarchy of gold, bronze and silver. Instead of bronze I want to use a copper like shade of rose gold paint. The gold shows the donors which have given the most money and the light grey are the ones with the smaller donations. The choice of colours makes a clear hierarchy without having indicate an amount.
ABCDEFGHIJKLM NOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklm nopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890
The donor wall is categorized into four groups as follows: +100,000 +50,000 +5,000 +500
gold
rose gold
grey / silver
iceberg 2122-50
DONOR WALL Display The donor wall would be located where the world map is currenty, it is a point of high circulation and it is a big enough wall for names to be added if necessary. The wall is currently painted blue and would be painted white like most of the other walls in the building, to make the entire building more consistent and to make the painted letters stand out.
DONOR WALL Display
PROCESS Initial process of finding the adequate visual language to proceed with this project.
PROCESS
A more finalised design system started to emerge as shown on the image above, I decided I wanted a more monotone design; something clean and very graphic.
This image shows how I started moving away from black and white and the thick black lines, and started looking at grey colour schemes. I also start bringing more elements of the system together and begin to create a consistent design.
PROCESS These samples are all from the materials lab: 1. Material Connexion 7143-01 Process 2. Material Connexion 7204-01 Cement Based 3. Silver Anodized Aluminium Sheet 4. Silver Metallic Acrylic Sheet These were some of the materials I thought about using for the signage in the building. The first two are a lot more raw-looking and would still look good with my chosen typeface. The bottom two are more clean and slick-looking, the last one is less reflectant and shiny which I think would work best for this project.
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For my signage I would use the last material for the panels in the exact grey colours I selected.
Jara Velasco Canning Advanced Typography Project Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design University of Michigan