Environmental Graphics +
Red Square Design portfolio
Selected Client List
Architectural Signage
Branding & Corporate Graphics
American Institute of Architects Brown Harris Stevens DoMore/Melamede EstĂŠe Lauder International CB Richard Ellis Csango Corp, India Gianni Versace Accessories Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects Macklowe Organization MetLife Insurance Company NYC Dept. of Transportation Prescriptives Robert A.M. Stern Architects Rose Associates Steiner Studios The Athena Group Urbahn Architects Vornado Realty Trust
Benetton, Treviso, Italy Brown Harris Stevens Csango Corp, India FlĂťte champagne bar GAVI (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) Gefinor Banking Group, Geneva Lehman Brothers MasterCard International Middle East Capital Group Reich & Tang Sasha Primak Jewelry Saudi Arabian Airlines (with Diefenbach Elkins) Skidmore, Owings & Merrill SwigBurris The Athena Group The Vaccine Fund US Fund for UNICEF
About Us
We are an internationally recognized, multidisciplinary design studio, involved in all areas of visual communications, including: environmental graphics, wayfinding sign programs, exhibit and retail design, graphic identity, interactive media, promotional print and publication design. We’re based in New York, our clients are in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia, and we have multilingual capabilities for projects that require that. Approach We carefully listen to our clients’ objectives, analyze their needs and goals. We take the time to plan sensible strategies to achieve results. Only then we work to create simple and elegant solutions. Process Our process is unique in that it is entirely modular: we bring together the best talent required for each project, calling on the specialists who know and understand our clients’ businesses and who can execute quickly and efficiently. Often we seek affiliates and work with suppliers in locations where our projects are. The result is exceptional flexibility in meeting our clients’ communications needs.
Colony Hall, Wallingford, Connecticut Environmental Graphics Choate Rosemary Hall just unveiled its new 51,761 sf Ann and George Colony Hall. The new academic building is dedicated to music, dance and voice studies. It features 1,070-person auditorium serving as a place for regular school-wide meetings as well as for orchestral and vocal performances. A 100-seat recital hall provides music rehearsal space, it is surrounded by additional practice rooms, classrooms, a percussion studio, and a green room. A dance studio sits on the upper floor. Rehearsal and performance spaces throughout the building can easily be used as classrooms. The new building was designed by Robert A. M. Stern Architects as an architectural complement to the adjacent Paul Mellon Arts Center that was designed by I. M. Pei in 1972. Exterior of concrete, aluminum and glass curtain wall continue the PMAC’s materials palette and late modernist architectural style. Our job involved creating a complex graphic sign program that addressed functional and stylistic requirements, allow easy navigation throughout the contemporary interior. It also creates a visual connection consistent with the rest of campus tradition rooted in the late 19th century.
Colony Hall, cont. All exterior and naming opportunity signs are designed as freestanding letterforms set in Garamond typeface, which is prevalent throughout campus, giving the new building its sense of place. Signs fabricated in brushed stainless steel.
Colony Hall, cont. Interior ADA signs are given a rectangular “golden section” format, made in sandblasted clear acrylic. They have a sensual translucent quality with raised copy, set in Helvetica – a clear and elegant modern typeface. Left side of each plaque has a 45º beveled edge – a unique feature, a nod to the building architecture.
Donor Recognition Wall was fabricated in brushed stainless steel with acid etched and filled graphics also in Helvetica. Left edge of individual name plates have a mirror polished 45º beveled edge, as a feature detail consistent with the rest of interior signs
Colony Hall, cont. Building dedication date is in stainless steel, numbers inlaid in concrete plate adjacent to the main entrance. Set in Clarendon typeface, the same as the dedication date of PMAC, across the alley, installed in 1972.
Skyview Wellness Medical Center, Flushing, New York Environmental Graphics, Branded Environment Located in a predominantly Chinese-speaking Flushing, in a large shopping mall, is a 50,000 SF space, subdivided into 36 medical condos, common areas, including a food court. The client asked us to devise a series of graphic solutions that will help visitors easily navigate their way around and give the space that necessary upscale look to compensate for the doldrums of generic shopping mall style and quality of construction. Our design elements help to project the image of an upscale professional environment with the comfort of a holistic spa. Feng Shui principles of balanced energy flow are a strong component. Series of LED screens project views of tranquil nature throughout common areas, bringing the outdoors in. Colors and geometric elements of the brandmark are incorporated in the bilingual graphic system, providing a strong and harmonious identity throughout the space.
Skyview Medical Center, continued. Colors and geometric elements of the brandmark are incorporated in the bilingual graphic system, providing a strong and harmonious identity throughout the space.
A set of color coordinated orientation maps are helping customers to find their way around the Center.
NYC Transportation Authority, Jamaica Queens Signage and wayfinding. Work in progress
Under Governor Cuomo’s Enhanced Station Initiative for the New York City Transit Authority, the Sutphin Blvd - Archer Ave - JFK subway complex is being redesigned to improve the reliability, capacity, and customer experience of the subway system. Our task: Design a clear, efficient wayfinding system to help everyday passengers and visitors negotiate the four major modes of transportation that intersect at Jamaica. Work closely with Urbahn Architects to assure a seamless transition from air to ground to underground travel, provide a clutter-free and information-rich environment, and reinforce Jamaica’s role as a portal to the city. Integrate the Sutphin-Archer-JFK station to better serve a complex network: the E, J and Z subway lines, 23 city bus routes, the Long Island Railroad, and the AirTrain to the John F. Kennedy International Airport. An estimated 7,000,000 passengers pass throughout this hub every year. The three-level station that opened in December 1988 had one elevator connecting all levels, a limited number of stairs and escalators, and outdated signage. It could not meet the demands of vehicular, rail, and passenger traffic.
The World AirTrain-JFK
Airport
Lоng Island LIRR Trains Babylon, Belmont Park, Far Rockaway, Hempstead. Long Beach, Montauk Oyster Bay, Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, West Hempstead
Queens MTA Buses
Q25, Q30, Q31, Q34, Q40, Q41, Q43, Q44, Q54, Q56, Q60 Q65, Q6, Q8, Q9, Q20A, Q20B, Q24
Nassau NICE Buses n1, n6, n22, n24, n26
NewYork City Sutphin Blvd-Archer Ave-JFK Subway Station
EJZ
Harbin Bank, Harbin, China Corporate and wayfinding signage programs for the new 80,000 sm corporate campus, under construction. Harbin Bank, established in 1997 and based in Heilongjiang province, was one of the first in China to issue small, secure loans to unemployed workers and to develop a microcredit business to serve small companies, micro-enterprises, and rural farmers. Following the success of its microcredit business, the bank is expanding beyond its province. Harbin Bank commissioned Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects to design its Class-A, new 80,000 sm campus comprised of: beautifully landscaped grounds with water features; 31-story Office Tower; Operations Hall (flagship branch); 3-story private Health Club for employees and guests; Guest House, a 4-story, private hotel. Our final package includes all interior and exterior signs and specifications for a 12-meter illuminated Corporate Brand sign at the 31st floor of the main Office Tower.
Harbin Bank, continued. Traffic flow diagram. A well conceived wayfinding system depends on a thorough understanding of movement through the given space. The purpose of a traffic flow diagram is to study the movement and to establish the future wayfinding system. The campus is complex in its function. Numerous buildings, a variety of services offered for different constituencies: employees, visitors, hotel staff and guests, members of the health club, daily clients of the flagship branch, numerous maintenance and support personnel. It’s necessary to delineate a clear movement pattern and to prevent potential traffic conflicts and bottlenecking among pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
Harbin Bank, continued. Left: Schematic master plan illustrates composition and relationship of buildings. This theme is utilized as decorative pattern for all plaque signs throughout campus. Bottom: System approach, uses decorative master plan pattern, suggesting visual cues to identify individual location within campus, accented oval represents current building. Fabrication: steel plaque with brushed and sandblasted pattern, all messages and sign edges are painted Harbin Plum color.
Below: Corporate brand above reception desk at the main Office Tower. Curved steel with lasercut graphics, all edges are painted Harbin Plum color.
FIFC, Mumbai, India Corporate and wayfinding signage programs The First International Financial Center is a major new landmark office building – a home to Citibank, Oracle and Apple Corporation. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects, the building provides approximately 61,000 sqm of Grade-A office space with 800 parking spots. With the use of advanced mechanical/electrical systems, lighting, the latest in elevators technology and comprehensive graphic/wayfinding system, FIFC sets the standard within Mumbai’s prestigious Bandra Kurla Complex. Our assignment was to design a comprehensive corporate and wayfinding sign systems for the building and the surrounding property – elegant and simple graphic solution to compliment the stone, glass and steel architecture. In addition the system was required to meet Mumbai fire and safety codes, withstand harsh climate, poor maintenance conditions and vandalism common to the city. We created a corporate signature of the building brand name and its abbreviation. This simple design translated well into all-steel-fabricated system. Top: The corporate signature, brushed steel construction, mounted on stone pylon greets visitors at the entrance driveway. Bottom: Corporate signature, etched on glass, greets visitors at the main entrance doors.
Top left: Directional sign in brushed steel. Top right: Cautionary sign in brushed steel, above ramp leading to lower level garage. Bottom left and right: All regulatory signage is designed according to the Mumbai fire and safety code.
FIFC, continued. Top left: Floor and lift cabin identifications at lift Top right: Detail, brushed steel, surface mounted lobby. Cabin identifications are mounted on illuminated letterforms. lanterns that brighten up, once lift doors open. Bottom right: Regulatory signage is designed Bottom left: Emergency exit maps are silkscreen according to the Mumbai fire and safety code. Warm Gray color on stone panels.
We designed a custom mounting detail that allowed the 40 square meter illuminated Citibank brandmark to appear floating off the building facade.
The MetLife Building, 200 Park Avenue, New York Corporate and wayfinding signage programs. Retail concourse signage, graphics standards guidelines. Kohn Petersen Fox Architects were commissioned to update and restore the 80,000 sf lobby of this modern architecture icon with extensive foot traffic; estimated 500,000 tenants, commuters from adjacent Grand Central Station and visitors pass through the building’s lobby daily. KPF chose Red Square Design to design a comprehensive corporate and wayfinding programs.
For three years we worked closely with the architects and their client studying traffic flow patterns, security issues and making sure that the future signage program was ADA-compliant. Once the design was approved we advised on the selection of fabricators and supervised all phases of the fabrication and installation process, from checking quality and color of the bronze to helping the fabricator resolve structural details, ensuring the job was done well, on time and on budget. Below: Illuminated corporate sign and the building address at main entrance.
All signs are solid bronze construction with surfaces in brushed finish to complement building’s accent detailing and hardware.
Top left: Exterior corporate signature sign. Top center right: Interior directional signage. Top right: Illuminated elevator signage at main lobby. Bottom: Modular signage system above “visitor center� desk. Bronze color graphics on black magnetic rubber panels attached to metal substrate. Modular magnetic rubber panels are easily rearranged in seconds to accommodate varying visitor traffic flow.
The MetLife Building, continued. Under a separate contract with the building management we designed Retail Signage Standards and their Graphic Standards Guidelines for the newly renovated shopping concourse. Special attention was given to finding a proper balance between the elegant glass storefronts and what otherwise could have been visually aggressive retail messaging. Right: New storefront signage developed
using the new Graphic Standards Guidelines.
Steiner Studios, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York Brandmark, graphic identity, corporate and wayfinding signage programs, collateral material and advertising. Before Steiner Equities broke ground at the construction site, they asked us to create a new brand and its graphic representation. The client wanted to convey an image of a long-standing tradition of American filmmaking industry paired with innovative technology – the two major values that will make the new East Coast film studio the “Hollywood on the Hudson.�
Today, Steiner Studios is located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard along the East River. The 15-acre campus is a full-service production studio for major motion pictures, independent films, television, music videos and commercials. Our solution to put Steiner Studios on the New York map was to create a 60 ft. triangular obelisk with the new brandmark at a pivotal location of the campus, making it visible from the major locations: Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, and the Brooklyn Queens Expressway. Left: A triangular pylon with corporate signature on three sides and overhead sign identifying building entrance. Right: Corporate communications system, developed as part of a complete brand identity.
Prescriptives, New York Retail design: graphic and construction standards including illuminated signage system, color scheme, innovative materials and hardware. Prescriptives revolutionized the cosmetics industry when they introduced a custom-blend counter. The new concept and the service it provided called for a total redesign of the store island. We helped the in-house design team create a new visual vocabulary and new corporate standards, including: illuminated signage system, innovative materials and construction, color scheme, lighting, hardware.
Balsley Park, New York Graphic design on a temporary construction fence. Large size, laser-printed self-adhesive vinyl panels mounted on painted plywood fence. Text on panels announces the opening of a new public park and informs public of the amenities the new park will offer.
Times Square, New York Our design solution for a NYC Dept. of Transportation’s beautification project – a painted streetscape, to refresh temporary pedestrian islands at Times Square and to ensure these places remain vibrant, inviting and dynamic. Left: Birds-eye view of Times Square. Bottom: Looking South on Seventh Avenue at West 46th Street.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Capabilities brochure Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) is one of the largest and most influential architecture, interior design, engineering, and urban planning firms in the world. Founded in 1936, SOM has completed more than 10,000 projects across 50-plus countries. They are renowned for their iconic buildings and steadfast commitment to design excellence, innovation, and sustainability.
We were asked to design the company's capabilities brochure to compliment SOM’s new look & feel that was recently implemented across other communication vehicles. Working directly with senior partners in charge and their team of marketing specialists, our design evolved around bilingual text, in this case Chinese and English, and carefully selected images of the company’s projects. The new design is conceived to provide clarity of written information together with an impactful presentation of the visuals, project by project. The design’s flexibility allows use of other foreign languages, which gives the layout its versatility and flexibility to be used again and again addressing different world markets.
Brand Development Graphic Standards Guidelines for selected clients.
Selected Brandmarks
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