NO. 11, 2014
NO. 11, 2014
eg EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS MAGAZINE WWW.SEGD.ORG
OPEN BOOK
VANCOUVER LIBRARY
SKETCHBOOK
TERRY GRABOSKI
TOUCH-RESPONSIVE WAYFINDING
ABU DHABI STREET SIGNS
City of Nashville Designer: Informing Design (Pittsburgh, PA)
Nemours Children’s Hospital Designer: Stanley Beaman & Sears (Atlanta, GA) Perkins + Will (Boston, MA)
CCBC Designer: Ayers Saint Gross (Baltimore, MD)
Inspired by Design. Powered by Innovation. Committed to Perform.
Let’s traveL together Design collaboration: DG Studios & mcgarrybowen
Building upon our 34 years of award winning performance and experience, GableSigns understands what it takes to make a great project. We have been working with EG designers since our beginning days, and never underestimate or compromise what a great partnership can achieve. From custom signs & architectural graphics, to dynamic digital displays, our team is here and ready to help on your next project. For more info, contact us at 800.854.0568
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Society for Experiential Graphic Design A multidisciplinary community creating experiences that connect people to place
CUSTOMIZED FOR YOUR ENVIRONMENT BUILT FOR ANY ENVIRONMENT
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SEGD BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Vice President Treasurer
Jill Ayers, Design360, New York John Lutz, Selbert Perkins Design, Chicago Gary Stemler, archetype, Minneapolis
Patrick Angelel, CREO Industrial Arts, Everett, Wash. Steve Bayer, Daktronics, Brookings, S.D. Peter Dixon, Prophet, New York Moira Gemmill (Ex Officio), Victoria and Albert Museum, London Jody Graff (Ex Officio), Drexel University, Philadelphia Cynthia Hall (Ex Officio), Seattle J. Graham Hanson, Graham Hanson Design, New York Edwin Hofmann, Limited Brands, Columbus, Ohio Alan Jacobson, ex;it, Philadelphia Amy Lukas (Past President), Infinite Scale, Salt Lake City Wayne McCutcheon (Past President), Entro, Toronto Bryan Meszaros, OpenEye, South Amboy, N.J. Stephen Minning, BrandCulture Communications, Sydney Dan Moalli, Technomedia, New York Steven Stamper, fd2s, Austin, Texas Julie Vogel, Kate Keating Associates, San Francisco Leslie Wolke, Leslie Wolke Consulting, Austin, Texas
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Atlanta Lynne Bernhardt, lbdesign@bellsouth.net Stephen Carlin, stevecarlin@coopercarry.com Austin Jason Helton, jhelton@snallc.com Mitch Leathers, mleathers@snallc.com Boston Michele Phelan, michele@96pt.com Sam Pease, spease@spdeast.com Brisbane, Australia Jack Bryce, jack@jackbryce.com Charlotte, NC Kevin Kern, kkern@505design.com Scott Muller, SMuller@trademarkvisual.com Chicago Kyle Skunta, kskunta@selbertperkins.com Julie Maggos, j.maggos@interiorarchitects.com Cincinnati Hannah Anderson, handerson@msaarch.com Margaret Vennemeyer, mvennemeyer@bhdp.com Denver George Lim, george@tangramdesignllc.com Angela Serravo, angela@tangramdesignllc.com Edinburgh Lucy Richards, lr@studiolr.com Kansas City Rick Smith, rsmith@dimin.com London Simon Borg, simon.borg@populous.com Los Angeles Kris Helmick, kris@huntdesign.com Mohamed Khalfan, mo@signsandservicesco.com Minneapolis Adam Halverson, adamh@serigraphicssign.com Jese Yungner, yungner@visualcomm.com New York Rachel Einsidler, einsidler.r@design360inc.com Anthony Ferrara, anthony@designconcernus.com Anna Sharp, asharp@twotwelve.com Philadelphia Stephen Bashore, sbashore@cloudgehshan.com Ian Goldberg, igoldberg@cloudgehshan.com Portland Kathy Fry, kathy@mayerreed.com Mike Sauer, msauer@mayerreed.com San Diego Chris McCampbell, chris@kathydavisassociates.com San Francisco Tim Huey, tim_huey@gensler.com Danielle Lindsay, danielle.lindsay@som.com Seattle Cynthia Hall, hallcynthia1@comcast.net Annelle Stotz, a.stotz@interiorarchitects.com Toronto Cynthia Damar-Schnobb, cynthia@entro.com Andrew Kuzyk, andrew@entro.com Vancouver Danielle Bauer, dbauer@cygnusgroup.ca Daniela Pilossof, daniela.pilossof@gmail.com Washington, D.C. Jeffrey Wotowiec, jwotowiec@cannondesign.com Wellington, New Zealand Nick Kapica, n.kapica@massey.ac.nz
Publisher Clive Roux, CEO Editor-in-Chief Pat Matson Knapp pat@segd.org Executive Editor Ann Makowski Founding Editor Leslie Gallery Dilworth Design Wayne-William Creative Contributors Terry Graboski, Steve Landau, Edward Steinfeld, Heamchand Subryan Executive and Editorial Offices 1900 L St., NW Suite 710 Washington, D.C. 20036 202.638.5555 www.segd.org
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EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS MAGAZINE
Editorial, Subscriptions, Reprints, Back Issues 202.638.5555 segd@segd.org
NO. 11, 2014
eg
Kathleen Turner kathleen@segd.org 703.657.9171
Recently we surveyed firm leaders to understand how they’re doing, where they’re heading, and how we can help them get there. We asked eight open-ended questions to gain deeper insights from the community. Most responses indicate strong growth and members trying to understand and grapple with how to successfully integrate digital technologies into their service offer. They were also clear that technology is only a means to providing better user experiences and benefits. Solving the problems of users comes first. We agree. One of the key roles that design plays in the 21st century is to help make sense of and wrangle new technologies into a form that is beneficial and compelling for users. We cannot stop the march of technology, but we can embrace and guide it. Design is the only profession that seriously places the user at the center of the problem-solving process and, as some members have pointed out, despite the glitziness of digital, we need to make sure that we keep the user—not the technology—at the center of our conversations! As SEGD develops workshops and webinars, creates new programs and benefits, and delivers content to you, we’re mindful that digital technology has created seismic shifts in the design world. Physical environments are becoming more connected, more data- and media-rich, and more complex. And we also know that some EGD/XGD practices will stay firmly rooted in more traditional forms of visual communication. The 2015 Education Calendar (see page 59) offers a balance between digital and non-digital. The digital landscape is covered with two Xplorer Digital 101 Camps, the Customer Experience (Cx) Workshop, and Xlab 2015. There are workshops on Wayfinding, Branded Environments (Be), and the Business of Design, as well as the 2015 SEGD Conference June 4-6 in Chicago. New in 2015, presentations from the physical events will be available on our website as videos, called SEGD Talks, and will be free to members. The 2015 calendar also includes six technical and practice webinars and—big news here—we’ll be offering those to you as a FREE member benefit in 2015 as well! In addition, all SEGD educational programs will be offered for purchase in livestreaming and recorded versions. If there’s a topic of interest to you that you don’t see on our calendar, I invite you to email me (clive@segd.org) and tell me about it. I also invite you to “Xplore” your interests on segd.org. We’re adding case studies, research papers, interviews, member bios, and news items every day. If you aren’t already acquainted with this content-rich, high-traffic resource, it will be a revelation.
NO. 11, 2014
Advertising Sales Kristin Bennani kristin@segd.org 202.713.0413
Winds of Change
OPEN BOOK
VANCOUVER LIBRARY
SKETCHBOOK
TERRY GRABOSKI
TOUCH-RESPONSIVE WAYFINDING
ABU DHABI STREET SIGNS
On the cover: The Vancouver Community Library (Vancouver, Wash.) is an open book for users. See story, page 22.
See you in the future! Clive Roux CEO
eg magazine — 3
CONTENTS
1 UP FRONT (10)
Found
Retail storytelling, a high-tech entry statement, and a typographical time machine (14)
Review
Paul Rand’s Thoughts on Design and Leslie Gallery Dilworth on life by design (16)
Out There
Moxie graphic panels and Formica’s Envision
4 — eg magazine
2 FEATURES (22)
Open Book
A new community library opens its books and its doors with a building design and signage that welcome the future.
3 INSPIRATION
(28)
Spot On
On a former military site, a new urban park features access to history via playful, sculptural signage. (34)
Can a Sign Change the World?
The first-ever comprehensive street naming, addressing, and sign system is changing the future for Abu Dhabi. (40)
The Last Mile
For the blind and visually impaired, wayfinding in public spaces is getting easier thanks to touch-responsive maps and models.
(50)
Sketchbook
The poetic paper cuttings of Terry Graboski (54)
Workspace
Gensler’s Washington, D.C., digs (59)
2015 Events Calendar A year of education and inspiration, from Digital Boot Camp to the Business of Design Summit (64)
Up Close
Monotype’s Allan Haley on scaling type
eg magazine — 5
Thanksto toour oursupporters supporters Thanks 2014 Industry Partners
20142014 eg Sponsors and Patrons eg Sponsors and Patrons Lead Sponsor Lead Sponsor Foreseer Foreseer Pentagram Pentagram Sponsor Sponsor Robert Probst APCO Robert Probst APCO archetype archetypeCloud Gehshan & Associates Dale Travis Associates Cloud Gehshan & Associates fd2s Dale Travis Associates Gallagher & Associates fd2s Hunt Design GallagherMayer/Reed & Associates Hunt Design Poulin + Morris Mayer/Reed Selbert Perkins Poulin + Morris Selbert Perkins Patron C&G Partners Patron Design Goes Donovan/Green C&G Partners Design Goes Donovan/Green
2014 Program Sponsors 2014archetype SEGD Program Sponsors Artcraft Display Graphics Inc.
Artografx Arlon MailChimp archetypeCase[werks] Cloud Gehshan Associates Neiman & Company Artcraft Display Graphics Inc. Industrial Arts Planar ArtografxCREO DeNyse Companies Premier Mounts Arlon Designtex Electrosonic Principle Group Case[werks] Display LLC ExcellartAssociates Rainier Cloud Gehshan Fast Signs CREO Industrial Arts REXframe GKD Metal Fabrics Samsung DeNyse Companies Harbinger, Inc. DesigntexHarmon Signs Scala Henry Incorporated SH Immersive Environments Electrosonic Image Manufacturing Group Excellart Insight Lighting SignComp Site Enhancement Services Fast SignsMailChimp Nieman & Company GKD Metal Fabrics SloanLED Principle Tube Art Group Harbinger, Inc. Group Rainier Harmon Signs Unified Field REXframe Henry Incorporated University of Cincinnati College of DAAP Samsung HillmannScala & Carr Visual Citi SH Immersive Environments Image Manufacturing Group Watchfire SignComp Insight Lighting Xibitz Site Enhancement Services ISA - The International Sign Association SloanLED Tube Art Group Lavi Industries Field Litegrafx Unified University of Cincinnati College of DAAP Visual Citi Watchfire Xibitz
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UP FRONT (10)
Found
Retail storytelling, a high-tech entry statement, and a typographical time machine (14)
Review
Paul Rand’s Thoughts on Design and Leslie Gallery Dilworth on life by design (16)
Out There
Moxie graphic panels and Formica’s Envision
FOUND
SECTION TITLE
10 — eg magazine
STORY Story, a new retail space in New York City’s Meatpacking District, is more like a magazine or a gallery than a store. It offers an eclectic range of gift items curated around constantly changing themes and reinvents itself accordingly every four to eight weeks. Founder Rachel Shechtman (a former brand consultant) worked with Sagmeister & Walsh to create an identity that goes with the existential flow. Sagmeister & Walsh designed the identity around the holding device created when the word “Story” is split in half, adding brackets that cradle the current theme. Theme names are rendered in neon, vinyl, and other appropriately eclectic materials as change happens. Photos: Sagmeister & Walsh
Lou Dorfsman’s genius in corporate design is legendary, and so is the project he considered his opus: Gastrotypographicalassemblage, the 33-foot-long installation he created for the cafeteria of the Eero Saarinen-designed CBS building in Manhattan in 1966. Inspired by the partitioned type drawers known as California job cases, Dorfsman envisioned the monumental collage of letterforms, kitchen utensils, cans of food, recipes, and other notions including a pair of carved bare feet crushing grapes. It inspired diners and designers in the cafeteria for more than 25 years. But when CBS remodeled in 1991, it was unceremoniously torn down and thrown away. Nick Fasciano, who created its original hand carvings, rescued it and hauled the nine panels to his basement, where they languished for another quarter-century. Dorfsman died in 2008, before the story’s happy ending. In February 2014, after a painstaking five-year renovation, it was moved to the Culinary Institute of America campus in Hyde Park, N.Y. When The New York Times asked Fasciano what the famously perfectionist Dorfsman would say if he could see it today, Fasciano replied: “Nick, the ‘w’ in ‘wheat’ is a little crooked.” Photos: Courtesy Nick Fasciano
DNUOF
TASTY TYPE, HAPPY ENDING
eg magazine — 11
FOUND
SECTION TITLE
12 — eg magazine
ENTRY STATEMENT The neighborhood around 221 Main Street in San Francisco is rapidly evolving into a technology hub. Beacon Capital Partners saw the chance to position the building as an anchor for the growing area, and decided to update its façade to create a distinctive visual landmark in sync with the new-tech vibe. ESI Design activated the building with a digital display that stretches 125x25 feet, from the façade to the interior lobby. An original media program features Northern California themes of redwoods, beaches, waterfalls, and poppies, and was
DNUOF
designed to be viewed from many vantage points, from the street into the high-definition lobby. Three different levels of LED resolution allow the multiple viewpoints. At streetfront, 10mm LED panels display the content in high resolution, while the exterior entryway ceiling is a low-res (124mm) display for an ambient colorscape that responds to local weather patterns. Inside the lobby, high-res 5mm panels display the colorful imagery along with local and regional weather data at a human scale. Etched diffusion glass mounted over the LEDs spreads the light across the entire surface, creating a seamless effect. Photos: Courtesy ESI Design
eg magazine — 13
REVIEW
“ Though printed in black and white and hardly comparable visually to the lavish glossiness of today’s design books, the slim volume remains one of the seminal texts on graphic design.”
The Beautiful and the Useful Thoughts on Design By Paul Rand Chronicle Books, 2014
Paul Rand’s 1947 manifesto has been out of print for decades, but his passionate argument for the marriage of “the beautiful and the useful” still resonates as much as his work. Though printed in black and white and hardly comparable visually to the lavish glossiness of today’s design books, the slim volume remains one of the seminal texts on graphic design. This new facsimile edition— published in time to mark the 100th anniversary of Rand’s birth—preserves his original essay with text and imagery for a revised printing in 1970. In the new foreword, Pentagram Partner Michael Bierut says the then-33-year-old Rand revolutionized the buttoned-down world of Madison Avenue with “the bracing clarity of European modernism” and elevated doing more with less to a high art. László Moholy-Nagy said of him: “He is an idealist and a realist, using the language of the poet and business man.” As a young design writer in the early 1990s, I had the honor of interviewing Rand as part of a HOW magazine issue on Masters of Design. Gruff and to the point at first, impatient when he deemed I had not researched his work thoroughly enough (“Didn’t you read my books?”), Rand warmed up during the interview when he learned I lived in the same town as his daughter. I can remember my takeaway from the interview as clearly as if it happened yesterday, the quote I knew would be the centerpiece of my article: “Design is not fashion. It’s timeless. Good design doesn’t date.” His book proves it. —Pat Matson Knapp
14 — eg magazine
Advertisement Advertisement illustration, illustration, Westinghouse Westinghouse 19681968
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Ideas for a book, website, or exhibit review? Contact pat@segd.org.
The Out-of-Home Immersive Entertainment Frontier Kevin Williams and Michael Mascioni Gower, 2014 Though hampered by an arcane name and a pay-per-use heritage, “digital out of home entertainment” is one of the fastest-growing technology sectors and is transforming the customer experience in shops, cinemas, museums, and almost any other environment where people congregate. This book provides a “state of play” exploration of successes, emerging new applications, and the strategies that inform them. It’s an essential guide for creatives involved in immersive experience design.
Shaping the City: Studies in History, Theory and Urban Design Rodolphe El-Khoury and Edward Robbins, eds. Routledge, 2013
Type on Screen Ellen Lupton, ed. Princeton Architectural Press, 2014
This follow-up to This newly revised Lupton’s Thinking with edition of Shaping the Type is the definitive City (first published guide to adapting in 2003) examines the classic typographic critical ideas driving concepts to screenurban design through case studies of particular based applications. It covers choosing cities at important typefaces for the screen, periods in their styling beautiful and development. It retains functional text and crucial discussions navigation for websites about how cities such and other screen-based as Los Angeles, Atlanta, applications, animating Chicago, Detroit, text, and generating new Philadelphia, and forms and experiences Brasilia have been with code-based impacted by the megaoperations. It’s meant city, the post-colonial city, and New Urbanism as a primer for anyone and introduces new case exploring typography for the digital age. studies critical to any study of contemporary urbanism: China, Dubai, Tijuana, and the wider issues of informal cities in the Global South.
Manual of Museum Exhibition Barry Lord and Maria Placente, eds. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014 Since the first edition of this book was published in 2002, museum exhibitions have exploded worldwide, both in bricks-andmortar institutions and on the web. Ideas and approaches to exhibition have also exploded, with new technologies bringing worlds of innovation. The very definition of exhibition has changed radically: exhibitions can be virtual or located in temporary pop-up venues and, perhaps most significantly, the traditional notion of museum as authority has changed as information has become democratized. Lord and Placente cover the new landscape and document every step of the exhibition planning and design process.
Luck is Not a Plan for Your Future Leslie Gallery Dilworth Balboa Press 2014 SEGD’s former CEO Leslie Gallery Dilworth embodies the Live by Design philosophy, and her book is a primer on how it’s done. She’s used her warmth, sense of humor, and amazing storytelling skills in a quick-read how-to on designing a life that’s full of love, laughter, fun, and fulfillment. It’s a must for both women and men trying to juggle family, work, and their own mental and physical health.
eg magazine — 15
OUT THERE
A
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INNOVATIVE MATERIALS, PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY
16 — eg magazine
New product to share? Contact pat@segd.org.
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Direct Embed finish is a durable polyurethane powdercoat formulated to withstand high-traffic interior environments as well as exterior weather conditions. High-resolution images are permanently embedded in the powdercoating, flowing seamlessly over surface edges and corners. Finishes are anti-graffiti, anti-skid, antimicrobial, and scratchresistant with up to a 10-year warranty.
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eg magazine — 17
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FEATURES (22)
Open Book
A new community library opens its books and its doors with a building design and signage that welcome the future. (28)
Spot On
On a former military site, a new urban park features access to history via playful, sculptural signage. (34)
Can a Sign Change the World?
The first-ever comprehensive street naming, addressing, and sign system is changing the future for Abu Dhabi. (40)
The Last Mile
For the blind and visually impaired, wayfinding in public spaces is getting easier thanks to touch-responsive maps and models.
OPEN BOOK
Thanks to superscaled typography, as soon as patrons enter the openplan building, they understand how the collections are organized. (Photo: C. Bruce Forster)
L
ibraries have always been at the core of community life, and that hasn’t changed even though these days you don’t have to be in a library to pursue knowledge. Libraries today are portals for accessing technology, and community gathering spaces. So when the Fort Vancouver (Wash.) Regional Library District moved its main branch to the heart of the city’s commercial district, it had a true community center in mind. The new $38 million, 83,000-square-foot Vancouver Community Library, designed by The Miller Hull Partnership to LEED Gold standards, will eventually be the cornerstone of a fourblock, 600,000-square-foot mixed-use development including a public events plaza spilling out from the library’s atrium. The building was planned with the future in mind, says Karin Ford, public services director for the library district. “Flexibility and adaptability were our major mantras,” she explains. “Libraries are constantly evolving and changing, so we knew we wouldn’t be able to exactly predict our proportional needs for collections, technology, and meeting and gathering spaces in the future.” Large open floor areas and a flexible raised access floor containing mechanical and electrical systems allow for spaces to be rearranged easily as functional needs change. Signage was also designed with flexibility and the library’s LEED goals in mind. Mayer/Reed (Portland, Ore.) developed a system that’s minimal, adaptable, and sympathetic with the architectural concept. The firm’s landscape studio was on the master plan team for the civic development, “so we came to the project with an understanding of the big picture—the mission and goals and how wayfinding and signage could support them,” says Kathy Fry, Mayer/Reed associate partner. Saying hello The library says a warm and welcoming hello from its front door. At the main entry—and future nexus of the public plaza—bright lime green letters spelling “Library” spring 27 inches high from a planter, as if growing there. On the building’s east façade, most visible to vehicular traffic, a glass-and-steel identifier is integrated into the building exterior. The remainder of the wayfinding system uses the same minimal color and materials palette, primarily dark painted steel and lime green acrylic.
A new community library opens its books and its doors with a building design and wayfinding that welcome the future. By Pat Matson Knapp 22 — eg magazine
The Knowledge Wall is a 50-ft.-high interpretive exhibit that symbolizes the library’s collections and role in the community. It was designed by AldrichPears and fabricated by Pacific Studio. (Photo: Nic Lehoux)
eg magazine — 23
Client Fort Vancouver Regional Library District Location Vancouver, Wash. Project Area 83,000 sq. ft. Open Date July 2011 Design Mayer/Reed (wayfinding), The Miller Hull Partnership (architecture), AldrichPears Associates (interpretive installation) Design Team Mayer/Reed: Michael Reed (partner in charge), Kathy Fry (project manager/ project designer) The Miller Hull Partnership: Craig Curtis (design partner), Sian Roberts (partner in charge), Ruth Baleiko (lead project designer), Adin Dunning (project manager) AldrichPears Associates: Isaac Marshall (principal in charge), Sheila Hill (project manager), Brent Dutton (designer) Fabrication Plumb Signs (wayfinding signage fabrication), Pacific Studio (Knowledge Wall fabrication and installation) Consultants Interface Engineering (mechanical/ electrical), Candela (lighting), Kramer Gehlen Associates (structural), HDJ Design Co. (civil), The Miller Hull Partnership (interiors), Adams Consulting (hardware), Green Building Services (LEED and sustainability), RDH Building Sciences (envelope), Altermatt Associates (acoustics) Photos C. Bruce Forster, Nic Lehoux
The library entrance will eventually be the nexus for a new public plaza spilling out from the atrium. Bright lime green sculptural letters (27-in.-high and 8-in. deep) offer a cheery welcome. (Photo: C. Bruce Forster) 24 — eg magazine
Drawer full of knowledge A “drawer full of knowledge” metaphorically describes the building design as well as the wayfinding concept for the new library. A 200-foot- long, four-story atrium is the open drawer, exposing the library’s contents and encouraging exploration. Wayfinding is integrated into the library’s “adventurous staircase” and an adjacent Knowledge Wall (by AldrichPears Associates) that immerses patrons in the experience of using and navigating the building. To reinforce the “drawerful of knowledge” concept, Mayer/Reed intervened with superscaled letterforms painted on the exposed concrete undersides of the stair landings. Reaching the full height of the atrium, they provide an “at-a-glance” index of collections and programs. “The atrium is an extension of the future plaza, separated only by a wall of windows,” explains Fry. “The view into the library drove the desire for large-scale typography at the main stair that would create a draw into the library.” Beyond the atrium, wayfinding is relatively straightforward thanks to the plan’s open views. Two directories—a freestanding pylon at the bottom of the main stair and another comprised of etched and infilled stainless steel panels integrated into the elevator walls— provide supplemental wayfinding information. “Legibility for the general public and changeability were the highest priorities for the library,” notes Fry. “We addressed the legibility component with color tests for contrast, and we selected a bold typeface.” The team opted for a minimal color palette of dark gray with pops of lime green. They chose Interstate as the project typeface for its legibility, clean lines, and angled ascenders and descenders that counter the rectilinear patterning found in the building. Changeability (“without compromising quality,” notes Fry) was achieved by using vinyl and printed transparencies that can be updated in-house (as collections move over time). Conference and meeting room signs, as well as computer station identifiers, incorporate clear acrylic “windows” that hold transparency or paper inserts that library staff can update as needed. Other signs include floor identifiers in the form of dimensional letters integrated into architectural steel panels, 40+ overhead collection identifiers, and conference and other room identifiers. ADA code signs are dimensional bars with raised letters and Braille, and 50+ computer station ID signs are custom-mounted flags. Ford says the signage works well. “It’s consistent throughout the building in color, style, and font, and it’s fairly easy for the public to identify where they need to go. We didn’t want the signage to be too detailed because we know that people want general orientation, but also like to ask human beings for the details. We intentionally tried not to overdo the signage for that reason.”
“
A drawerful of knowledge metaphorically describes the building design as well as the wayfinding concept.
”
Floor identifiers appear under stair landings in the form of 2-in.-deep dimensional letters integrated into architectural steel panels. Mayer/Reed chose a simple palette for contrast and legibility and selected Interstate as the project typeface. (Photo: Nic Lehoux)
The building’s open plan makes wayfinding straightforward. Directories were kept simple. (Photo: C. Bruce Forster)
eg magazine — 25
On the building’s east façade, the primary identifier is integrated into stainless steel panels. (Photo: C. Bruce Forster)
The system was designed with flexibility in mind. Many shelf signs, room identifiers, and computer station identifiers incorporate clear acrylic sleeves. Library staff can use templates to print out new signs when functional needs change. (Photo: Nic Lehoux)
From information to knowledge Miller Hull commissioned AldrichPears Associates, a Vancouver, B.C.-based exhibition design firm, to team up for an interpretive exhibit to symbolize the collection of information and ideas in the building. “They asked us to look at the patron experience, and what the library should and could be to its users,” notes Brent Dutton, exhibition designer. AldrichPears gathered library staff and community members for a visioning workshop to explore the different ways people use the library. The findings were packaged in an interpretive plan that outlined three conceptual options for the piece. The result is the 50-foot-tall Knowledge Wall, which depicts an abstract “tree of knowledge” and three primary branches the represent what patrons do at the library: Locate, Browse, and Meet. Pacific Studio (Seattle) created a framework of vertical railings (climbing three stories of the atrium) and horizontal rods 26 — eg magazine
that hold hundreds of 18x18-in., digitally printed Alucobond panels. Words synonymous with the three key branches—in waterjet-cut aluminum letters mounted perpendicular to the wall—climb up the tree. At the base of the display, three display screens link the interpretive message to the library’s collections. Ford says the interpretive wall reinforces the wayfinding, as well. A 3D model of the building is incorporated on the display screen and keyed to the simple directional system. Its other components represent the library’s role as place for learning, exploring, and gathering. Most of all, the library is and will always be a place that represents its community and looks to the future, she adds. “We can’t know exactly what we’ll need in the future. We know the way people consume books and access knowledge will change, but their need to learn and be a part of their community won’t. That’s what we’re here for.”
2015 Submission Guidelines Deadline: January 31, 2015 Late Deadline: February 14, 2015 For more information visit www.segd.org or call 202.638.5555.
Spot On
On a former military site, a new urban park features access to history via playful, sculptural signage. By Pat Matson Knapp 28 — eg magazine
At Parc Blandan, a new urban park at the site of an old military barracks in Lyon, France, bold red circles pop from the landscape.
Vrignaud and Garcia-Ramirez designed a sign family consisting of five diameters of aluminum or steel circles.
Client Grand Lyon Location Lyon, France Budget 196,000€ (signage) Project Area 12 hectares Open Date April 2014 Signage Design Analia Garcia-Ramirez and Nicolas Vrignaud Design Team Analia Garcia-Ramirez, Nicolas Vrignaud (principals/designers); Sofiane Boufar (graphic designer) Consultants Base (landscape architects), Exploration Architecture (architects), On (lighting), André Baldinger (typeface design) Fabrication Lenoir Services Photos © Nicolas Vrignaud
Designers were inspired by vestiges of an old military marketing system found on the site. Simple red circles with red text were stenciled on and in buildings to identify different facilities.
L
yon, France’s “second city,” has many charms. The gateway to the Alps is known for its outstanding cuisine, its annual light festival, its burgeoning design and high-tech environment, and the numerous historical and architectural landmarks that make it worthy of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. Parc Blandan, a former military barracks on 17 hectares (about 42 acres) in the city, is practically new development if you consider Lyon began as a Roman colony in 43 B.C. Built between 1831 and 1853, the site was part of a series of forts designed to protect the city. When Grand Lyon purchased it in 2007, the goal was to provide Lyon residents and visitors with a new urban oasis and make the park’s rich military history accessible to all. The city hired landscape architects Base, Explorations Architecture, lighting designers On, and, for the site’s signage and wayfinding program, the Paris-based interdisciplinary studio of Nicolas Vrignaud and Analia GarciaRamirez. Vrignaud and Garcia-Ramirez’s mission was to create signage that would help visitors navigate the park and bring attention to its historical buildings and fun new features such as a skate park, an imaginary fort/ climbing wall, game fields, and other amenities. eg magazine — 29
Military history A working military base for more than 150 years, Parc Blandan includes a major fort with ramparts, five entrances, and numerous buildings and features of military significance. It was this history that inspired Vrignaud and GarciaRamirez to devise bold, sculptural signage elements that would create visual impact against the fort’s stone walls, gravel pathways, and green spaces. Exploring the site at the outset of the project, they discovered a series of red circles stenciled on interior and exterior walls—clearly an old military system for identifying facilities. “It seemed appropriate to use this rational and effective tagging system as the basis for our contemporary signage,” says Vrignaud. “We kept this red circle as the only identifying shape on the site, to create a unique visual vocabulary for Parc Blandan.” 30 — eg magazine
Like the military markings of old, text on the signage is in white. Vrignaud’s system needed to orient visitors to the park as well as tell them stories about the site’s history. His team created a family of sign types in five diameters to accommodate various functional needs: orientation/wayfinding, regulatory information, site/building identification, and interpretative information to narrate the park’s military history. The system encompasses 50 signs, including five entrance identifiers, 15 signs interpreting historical features, five outlining the park’s sustainable landscaping and design features, and other facilities and directional signs for playgrounds, a skate park, a dog area, and restrooms. To withstand the exterior environment and urban setting, the signs were fabricated (by Lenoir Services) in robust, powdercoated steel and aluminum with silkscreened text.
Directional signs of varying sizes help visitors navigate around the 12 hectares of the park that have been opened so far. The final spaces will open in 2016.
“ WE KEPT THIS RED CIRCLE AS THE ONLY IDENTIFYING SHAPE ON THE SITE, TO CREATE A UNIQUE VISUAL VOCABULARY FOR PARC BLANDAN.”
The bold, sculptural circles stand out from the park surroundings.
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Interpretive signs teach visitors about the site’s military history. This sign is located near a children’s play wall that simulates the fort’s ramparts.
Lighting designers On bathed the largest of the circles in red light, inviting visitors to engage with them.
Connecting the dots Vrignaud and Garcia-Ramirez worked with Swiss typographer André Baldinger and his associate Toan Vu-Huu to choose the project typefaces. Inspired again by the red circles, the team opted for Baldinger’s B-Dot family, a pixel font whose letterforms are drawn from dots but are not based on a grid. The result is a highly legible typeface that looks like it was rendered from a dot-matrix printer, but with the smoothness of a classically designed typeface. B-Dot was used for signage titles and headlines, while Baldinger’s B-Line serif typeface was used for body text. B-Line was designed to complement B-Dot, essentially connecting the dots in a smooth line for high legibility. Vrignaud says the typefaces contributed to the project’s 32 — eg magazine
accessibility requirements. “In addition to the optimum font sizes and typeface legibility, we were very concerned with contrast and reading height points.” The power of play Since the park opened in April 2014, visitors of all ages have been coming to learn about its military history, play a game of badminton or soccer, skate in the new skate park, or climb on the playgrounds. The whimsical red circles add to the fun factor and help them enjoy the park even more, especially at night. The project lighting designers bathed the largest circles in red light to draw attention to the visual theme around the park. Visitors feel invited to interact with the circles, and they have become a popular photo opportunity.
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CAN A SIGN CHANGE THE WORLD? Selbert Perkins Design creates the firstever comprehensive street naming, addressing, and wayfinding system for Abu Dhabi, and changes the emirate’s future in the process. By Pat Matson Knapp
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Client Abu Dhabi Municipality Location Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates Project Area 26,000 sq. miles Open Date 2014 (ongoing) Design Selbert Perkins Design Design Team Clifford Selbert (partner), Will Ayers (principal), Tim Cohan (design director) Consultants Norplan (addressing), Applied (pedestrian wayfinding) Fabrication Giffin Traffiks, Electro Signs Photos Brian Hawkins, Will Ayers
Signs are designed to last for 25 years, with porcelain enamel blades and aluminum frames. Smart poles accommodate a range of options including lighting, furniture, and banners.
A
bu Dhabi rose from the Arabian Gulf sands in the 1960s after oil was discovered in the region. Once a small pearl-diving outpost, its population has grown to more than two million and today it is the second largest city in the United Arab Emirates—dense with opulent palaces and mosques, lush parks and gardens, and some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers. It is also home to some of the world’s most spectacular destinations, including luxurious man-made islands, the largest indoor theme park in the world (Ferrari World), Zaha Hadid’s shapely bridge, and future Guggenheim and Louvre museums. But until recently, the streets had no consistent or legible names. “Abu Dhabi has moved at light speed from a Bedouin culture to a contemporary city,” says Clifford Selbert, FSEGD, Selbert Perkins Design (Los Angeles). “But like most Arab cultures, it did not have street names or formal addresses.” Until this year, when construction began on the first phase of a street sign and addressing program, “Orientation was completely by landmarks. There were no maps. The only way to get anywhere was to give your driver a picture of the building you think you’re going to, and hope.”
Although it has grown phenomenally since oil was discovered in the 1960s, Abu Dhabi had no consistent street naming or addressing system until this year. The government is implementing a massive program to name 12,000 streets, install 20,000 street signs, and address 200,000 buildings.
Aspirations and barriers
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan wants Abu Dhabi to be ranked a leading world Capital City by 2030, and he has also set his sights on Net Zero status. But with the city far surpassing the maximum population it was designed for, and growth continuing, traffic congestion, parking shortages, and public safety are growing concerns. “The implications of not having a street naming or address system are enormous,” says Selbert. “Businesses are slowed to a crawl because deliveries can’t be made; you simply can’t get from Point A to Point B. If you don’t know where the hospital is, you’re probably not going to make it. Security and police responsiveness are also a huge concern. People who live there have learned to navigate by landmarks, but now the landmarks are becoming invisible as the city becomes more dense.” So in 2010, the Abu Dhabi Municipality hired Selbert Perkins to develop a comprehensive street naming, addressing, and wayfinding system to support the goals of the Abu Dhabi 2030 Plan. SPD designed street signs and developed vehicular and pedestrian wayfinding systems, as well as standards for street furniture and signage for Abu Dhabi Municipality offices and parks. But first, the streets had to have names.
The client preferred a bronze/gold color scheme, but SPD’s contrast studies resulted in blue and red signs with white text for maximum legibility in the urban environment.
eg magazine — 35
Signs of wealth
Abu Dhabi implemented a massive public awareness campaign to teach residents about how to use the new street names and address system. “Onwani” means “My address” in Arabic.
What’s in a name?
While there had been a rudimentary and “illogical” street-name system in place for about the last decade, SPD and the Abu Dhabi Municipality ultimately elected to scrap it and start over because it resulted in frequent duplication and a “mystic” addressing hierarchy. Job One was to create a framework for naming more than 12,000 streets and devising an address numbering system for more than 200,000 buildings in a city roughly the size of Boston. The client’s first requirement was that no street names be repeated. They also specified that signs would be in both English and Arabic. SPD explored several options representing international best practices. While to the American designers it seemed logical to number cross streets (a la New York and other major cities), that didn’t work in Abu Dhabi because the English and Arabic numeric systems are so different. Ultimately, SPD decided on a simple logic: divide the street grid into themed districts from which individual street names could be derived. Unique street names would in turn ensure a precise address numbering system. SPD collaborated with a naming board consisting of cultural and historical consultants, language experts, and local officials that vetted possible names based on uniqueness, cultural and historical appropriateness, and spelling and transliteration. The process took two-and-a-half years. 36 — eg magazine
In the world’s richest city, even the humble street sign takes on an entirely new dimension. “From the get-go, our client told us, ‘We will only do this if the signs are completely unique to Abu Dhabi,’” remembers Selbert. “So we designed the most advanced street signs you’ve ever seen.” Abu Dhabi wanted the signs to incorporate unique colors, materials, shapes, and features that would not only look good, but could provide advanced functionality, including Wi Fi hotspots and links to the future vehicular and pedestrian wayfinding systems. The signs include “smart poles” that can accommodate a variety of features, including signalization, lighting, banners, and furniture. Each pole is also equipped with a QR code that, when scanned with a smartphone, provides information on location, nearby destinations, and local history and culture. The codes are also linked to a central GIS database that provides the municipality with an asset management system, giving city workers the exact location, design, specifications, content, and maintenance instructions for each sign. For the sign blades, SPD recommended porcelain enamel because it’s the longest lasting and most weather-resistant material to withstand the city’s hot climate and ocean breezes, and because they can afford it. The signs are designed to last 25 years. The porcelain enamel is framed in locally sourced, recyclable aluminum and attached to elaborate posts that are unique to each district. Some signs are illuminated. Initially the client wanted everything to be gold or bronze because those colors denote wealth, recalls Will Ayers, SPD principal. “But we did legibility studies to show them the importance of contrast within the environment, and we ended up with blue and dark red, which are also the colors of their new brand.” Typography was especially important given the two languages. Selbert gave the client three options: DIN, Tern, and Clearview, the typeface developed by Donald Meeker and used on U.S. interstate highways. Clearview was ultimately chosen as the project typeface. The Arabic choices were trickier because what the American designers found beautiful and legible, the client deemed “too contemporary.” Despite SPD’s recommendation to use a custom typeface, the city chose a traditional Arab typeface it considered the most legible.
Moving forward: “My Address”
Phase 1 of the project—fabrication of about 20,000 signs by two local companies—should be complete in 2014. Phase 2 extends the street sign program to the entire Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Phase 3 will see the implementation of the vehicular and pedestrian wayfinding systems in Abu Dhabi City. As huge a task as it has been, developing and installing 20,000 street signs and an address system in an emirate like Abu Dhabi is not enough. Prior
Two local fabricators are working on the sign program. In a factory built solely for the project, workers are completing Phase 1 (street signs and building identification) in 2014. Phase 2 is street signs for the entire emirate, and Phase 3 will include vehicular and pedestrian wayfinding systems in Abu Dhabi City.
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More than 200,000 buildings now have unique address plaques. They are also equipped with QR codes linked to location and nearby destination information.
to the 1960s, Abu Dhabi was a Bedouin culture. The illiteracy rate is very high, and for many, the new system is confusing at best. Promoting the system and teaching residents how to use it is essential, and Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipal Affairs has implemented a major public awareness campaign and website called onwani.ae. “Onwani” means “My address” in Arabic. The future pedestrian wayfinding system will also pose challenges for some residents. Although maps are being developed, many residents will have to be trained to use them. “It’s the kind of thing we take for granted,” adds Ayers. “But it’s a whole other layer of comprehension for a society that is largely unfamiliar with using this kind of information.” Selbert acknowledges the irony of his firm—known internationally for its design of iconic landmarks such as the LAX Gateway—working
on a project that essentially boils down to the most basic of urban communication, the street sign. “It’s not a computer or even a TV,” he muses. “It’s a sign. But these simple signs are going to change the world for a lot of people.” The government of Abu Dhabi estimates that in one year it will save a minimum of $100 million from the increased efficiencies created by having street signs and addresses, in addition to the inestimable benefit of lives saved by improved public safety and police and ambulance response. The system will boost tourism, improve delivery of services, make it easier to travel, and reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions through decreased travel times and fuel consumption. “This was definitely not a highdesign project,” says Selbert. “But it tells you how much design can have a strong impact on a culture. That’s what makes design so important…it really does matter.”
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THE LAST MILE
For the blind and visually impaired, wayfinding in public places is getting easier thanks to new touch-responsive talking maps and models. By Steve Landau, Heamchand Subryan, and Edward Steinfeld
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At Carroll Center for the Blind, the talking model was the first of a series of three touch-responsive maps. It can sense the locations of touches on its plastic surface, then announces information about the feature that was touched.
Imagine arriving at an unfamiliar school building for the first time. You need to navigate a complex maze of rooms, corridors, stairwells, and spaces to find the classroom or office that is your final destination—all in a concentrated period of time.
Now imagine you are blind. Unlike most users of this building, you can’t rely on traditional environmental graphics, such as signs, maps, or directories, to get a sense of the size and configuration of this new place. And your audible GPS doesn’t work the moment you enter the building, because the building itself blocks access to the GPS signal. While GPS for the blind and visually impaired is an amazing breakthrough that verbally identifies landmarks and constructs outdoor walking routes, the “last mile” problem means that complete travel independence may still not be possible. So you will have to resort to asking for help to read signs from a sighted stranger, or worse, you may need to request physical guidance, ruining the feeling of independence granted by successfully navigating to the building entrance on your own. To address this “last-mile” problem, developers at the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA) at the University at Buffalo and Touch Graphics, Inc. designed, fabricated, installed, and evaluated a series of touch-responsive talking models for visually impaired travelers. The interactive models were placed in three locations frequented by blind staff and visitors: the Technology Center, Carroll Center for the Blind, Newton, Mass.; Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind; and Grousbeck Center, Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass. Each talking map presents the spatial layout of its immediate surroundings in a multi-sensory format that is usable by everyone, with a particular emphasis on the needs of the blind. The prototype models and maps represent spaces as 3D
buildings in a landscape (for a campus), or as a raised-line and textured surface (for a building interior). In each case, forms were generalized to focus on only those features that are relevant to wayfinding and orientation, with all superfluous information omitted for tactile clarity and legibility. The models are touch responsive; that is, as you explore them with your hands and fingers, they announce the names of the thing you are touching followed by a description of activities occurring at each place and, finally, spoken directions for walking to that place. By explaining the configuration of the building or campus, the systems are intended to make it possible for a determined independent blind traveler to identify and travel to any location. The models strive to be appealing and user-friendly for everyone, including those with other disabilities, or no disability, without compromising accessibility. The requirements of accessibility regulations are minimal. For example, they only require that the number on a room sign be tactile and in Braille. Nothing about the room is required to be understandable by people who cannot read signs visually. Moreover, there are no requirements to provide information about the plan of a building or campus or directions from one place to another. Accessibility regulations give no guidance to designers for going beyond the minimum requirements. The Goals of Universal Design provide product developers with a simple checklist of outcomes that can help them create a higher level of accessibility and usability for all building users. As the population becomes familiar with navigational aids like GPS devices, the business case for universal design applications that exceed accessibility regulations becomes stronger because building users will have higher expectations. Moreover, the aging of the population will drive the market for increased usability. We may soon see a movement to certify universally designed products and environments through a point system like LEED certification for green buildings.
Voice GPS has revolutionized independent travel for the blind. But GPS stops working as soon as you are indoors.
eg magazine — 41
“ While these experimental systems were designed to accommodate the needs of blind pedestrians, information is also displayed visually to be beneficial to all users and enhance social integration.”
And, regulations are being expanded to address unmet needs like those satisfied by the talking models. Touch-responsive models and maps anticipate these possible developments, and foresee a day when enhanced accessibility features are routinely added to public information displays.
How touch-responsive models and maps work
All three installations rely on capacitance sensing to measure multi-finger touches on opaque, textured surfaces and shapes. The need to sense touches against irregularly shaped surfaces requires a different approach compared to flat touchscreens. In these examples, conductive paint was applied to plastic forms produced by 3D printing or CNC milling. Rooms, buildings, walking paths, roads, bus stops, or other map features that react when touched are created as individual, electrically isolated painted regions. The regions are connected by thin wires to sensors housed in the pedestal, and a computer handles all interactions and displays relevant media stored as sound clips and visual imagery. The sensors use a patented method (Landau & Eveland, 2014) of measuring finger pressure, and software permits building staff to “tune” the model, equalizing trigger-thresholds for each zone, to produce a convincing illusion of pressure sensitivity. Through user testing, the developers optimized sensing algorithms to ensure that users with different degrees of hand
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with a minimum of instructions. Any action taken should result in a satisfying, understandable result that Visuals moves the user closer to sought-after While these experimental systems information. To this end, developers were designed to accommodate created dual interaction modes the needs of blind pedestrians, that can be used separately or in information is also displayed combination. visually to be beneficial to all users Direct touch. The first thing new and enhance social integration users think to do when trying out one (Goal 6). In the model designed of these systems is to simply touch the for the Carroll Center Campus, tactile surface. The first time one of the buildings were painted in colors touch-responsive zones is activated by that distinguish dormitories from a direct touch, the name of that room, academic buildings, and roads building, or outdoor space is spoken are painted white to set them off and a visual spotlight appears there. from black lawn areas. After user Maintaining finger pressure causes testing, developers determined the system to play a description of that dynamic visual information activities or occupants at that location, should be added, so at Chicago followed by walking directions to travel Lighthouse for the Blind, the to that location. developers installed an overhead Main menu. For those users video projector that shines down seeking general information about on the shiny gray map surface (gray the building or campus or who want optimizes reflectivity in daylight to customize the way information is conditions). This innovation delivered, a simple three-button user animates the 3D tactile surface interface provides easy access to a with light, and permits a variety main menu of options. Users move of useful and beautiful effects, forward or backward through menu such as projecting matching options using right and left arrow satellite imagery on the model from buttons, and they select the current above. The enhanced dynamic option by pressing the circle button presentation techniques allow between the triangles. The most customization of the image to fit powerful option in the main menu is specific needs or values of the the index, which permits users to move sponsors and to address unique through a list of all places shown on the features of the place; for example, map, and then select one to be guided valued natural features or acoustic there on the map through a process of qualities (Goal 8). incremental voice coaching. For blind users, this is crucial, because it serves Interaction the same purpose as the alphabetical Universal Design Goal 4 calls for listing of offices in many mainstream design that’s easy to understand, building directories: if you know the meaning that new users should name of the place where you are going be able to figure out what to do but not its location, you can look it up.
strength and dexterity found the systems easy and enjoyable to use.
The talking maps at Chicago Lighthouse introduce the idea of adding dynamic visuals through an overhead video projector shining down on the surface.
Universal Design Goals The design team started by considering the eight goals of universal design, as articulated in Universal Design: Creating Inclusive Environments (Steinfeld & Maisel, 2012):
1. Body Fit Accommodating a wide a range of body sizes and abilities. Each map is placed on a horizontal or slightly sloping counter with knee space so that users in wheelchairs can pull up close. Controls are large and easy to use.
2. Comfort Keeping demands within desirable limits of body function and perception. Trigger strength for activating speech by pressing on the map adapts to meet user needs. The height of the map allows both standing and seated users to easily reach its entire surface.
3. Awareness Ensuring that critical information for use is easily perceived. Maps are visual, tactile, and they describe themselves through spoken language, large-print captions, and refreshable Braille. Sound effects embedded in the map capture environmental sounds like fountains or bells; this may help non-verbal users recognize landmarks they may encounter when traveling through the environment.
4. Understanding Making methods of operation and use intuitive, clear and unambiguous. The horizontal orientation gives the users a ‘birds-eye” view in the same relationship that they would experience it in the real world, unlike a vertical orientation that requires a more symbolic understanding of maps. Projected satellite images increase the reality of the simulation and allow focusing attention to specific parts of the model when necessary. 5. Wellness Contributing to health promotion, avoidance of disease, and protection from hazards. The edges of the map table and undersides are designed to avoid injury. The material used for the model is relatively impervious and can be cleaned easily.
6. Social Integration All users are invited to use the talking maps. They are designed to be enjoyable and useful for users with and without disabilities. In the latest version, several users can utilize the map at the same time. 7. Personalization Incorporating opportunities for choice and the expression of individual preferences. Users can just touch parts of the model to hear place names and directions, or they can select other options through a simple three-button user interface. Detailed spoken instructions are available, but experienced users can skip over them by pressing a button. For the Perkins Campus Model, designers created a multi-user system that allows up to four students standing around the pedestal to play a game in which they compete to find and touch places first.
8. Appropriateness Respecting and reinforcing cultural values, and the social and environmental contexts. Each talking map is located in an obvious position at a building’s main entrance and, if on a campus, at the visitors’ center, consistent with user expectations. The content presented by the maps can be customized and adjusted to emphasize the priorities of the users and the campus or building owners.
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Testing Touch-responsive models can also be useful for interpretive exhibits. Touch Graphics created this talking tactile exhibit for the San Diego Museum of Art. As visitors touch the surface, they hear a curator identifying and explaining the artwork.
Upon completion of each installation, staff from the IDeA Center implemented an on-site, user-centered evaluation to measure the effectiveness of various features, leading to recommendations that not only improved interaction on the evaluated model, but also highlighted features to eliminate, add, or modify in the next project. Evaluation called for blind, low vision, and mobility-impaired users to carry out a five-minute free exploration of the map, then execute a series of tasks of escalating difficulty. Subjects were asked to try each menu feature, and then to use the alphabetical index to locate an unfamiliar destination. Then, they attempted to physically navigate to the place they had found on the map as one of the researchers followed to see if they reached the destination successfully. Findings from the first two studies informed subsequent design modifications, and allowed innovative features to be incorporated in response to
When the user touches a building on the Perkins School Campus Model, he hears the name of the building spoken aloud, and a spotlight appears, illuminating the building currently being touched.
About the authors: Steve Landau is president of Touch Graphics, which develops universally designed products and exhibits that include interactive touch. Heamchand Subryan is a designer and researcher interested in creating inclusive interaction in products and environments at the IDeA Center. Edward Steinfeld is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University at Buffalo and Director of the IDeA Center.
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Editor’s note: The research described in this article was made possible by federal grant number H133E050004 from the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research, part of the U.S. Department of Education. Touch Graphics and the IDeA Center partnered on the research.
observations made experimentally. Since universally designed products accommodate the needs of multiple users, their development always requires human testing with as a large a variety of subjects as possible. And because these installations are site-specific, they could not be successfully evaluated in the laboratory. The three-part development cycle of designprototype-evaluate proved to be an effective way to promote usercentered innovation. Information obtained from each testing cycle fed forward to generate new ideas and features for the next installation. Feedback cycles and user participation are key characteristics of universal design practice since the knowledge needed to address the needs of very diverse populations is limited.
Future applications
While this study focused exclusively on orientation and wayfinding, these techniques can be applied to other cases where universal access to visual materials is needed. For example, Touch Graphics has added touch-responsiveness to museum exhibits. As in the maps and directories, these installations allow everyone to interact through direct touching, a visceral and intuitive way to learn. Touch has become an important aspect of our interactions with devices like tablet computers, but it appears that we have only scratched the surface. As touch moves into the third dimension, and the Internet of Things begins to take shape, we may see sculptures, steering wheels, and exercise equipment controlled through touch and gesture. Meanwhile, these three talking map installations give a glimpse of what is possible. Research/Design Team Steve Landau (design), Nicole Rittenour (graphics), and Zach Eveland (technology), Touch Graphics Inc.; and Heamchand Subryan (evaluation) and Edward Steinfeld (principle investigator), IDeA Center, University at Buffalo.
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At the University of Michigan’s famed football program, nobody is bigger than the team. A $9 million renovation of Schembechler Hall, the Wolverines’ football operations building, required a coordinated effort involving the best partners in design, fabrication and installation. Rainier was selected to manufacture and install the graphical components that created a new 7,000-square foot experience for fans and recruits celebrating the program’s unrivaled success. We worked with the design team at Downstream to make their vision a reality. The two-story Win Wall displays footballs representing more than 900 team wins—paying impressive homage to The Victors. Success always takes a team: www.rainiersport.com
INSPIRATION (50)
Sketchbook
The poetic paper cuttings of Terry Graboski (54)
Workspace
Gensler’s Washington, D.C., digs (59)
2015 Events Calendar A year of education and inspiration, from Digital Boot Camp to the Business of Design Summit (64)
Up Close
Monotype’s Allan Haley on scaling type
Terry Graboski Beck & Graboski Design Office It started 30 years ago when I needed a Valentine’s Day card for my wife Constance. In the office, late at night, all I had was paper and an X-Acto knife. I started cutting out a flower design. After a while I decided to keep cutting and see how much paper I could remove from the sheet. The shapes I removed were as important as the solid areas I left. I’ve been cutting ever since. Ideas pop into my head from things I’ve seen or places I’ve been. I never do a layout or preliminary design. It just comes out in a stream-ofPhoto: Caroline J. Beck
Paris is a steady source of inspiration. A street map seemed like a good idea at first, but became complicated as any city map would. So I invented new streets and eliminated many others with artistic license.
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consciousness sort of way. The more I think about it the less I like the results, so I just relax into the process and keep cutting. I discovered that China and Poland have a long tradition of paper cut-outs, so I may be channeling my ancestors. When we visited the craft museum in Ghuanzhou, I was completely fascinated by the process and results of a master Chinese artist who cut out my portrait with tiny scissors. My goal is to do larger-scale cut-outs as well as 3D constructions. I’m looking for a gallery show and more cut-out EGD projects.
“ Ideas pop into my head
from things I’ve seen or places I’ve been. I never do a layout or preliminary design.”
The shapes I remove are as important as the solid areas I leave.
I finally incorporated my art into an EGD project. The project logo was originally designed as a cut-out rose. It was translated into laser-cut aluminum and acrylic for signs around the campus (Fabrication: Neiman & Company).
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World War II Memorial - Pittsburgh, PA
Historic images digitally printed on glass let natural light and the Pittsburgh skyline beyond show through, allowing viewers to learn from the past as they look towards the future. For exhibitions, public art, environmental design, wayfinding, architecture, interiors and more, at GGI, we make your vision come alive, in glass.
Pike Place Market Seattle, WA
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S MART E DGE
TM
Sm art Wa y | S m a rt Fi t | Sm a r tPa n e l LED Wa y f i n d i n g & S i g n a g e S y s te m s
Many companies will tell you that they have an LED signage solution....However, when it comes to back lighting graphics for signage there are few companies who have INSIGHT’s experience in edge lighting with LED platforms. Our custom engineered SmartEdge acrylics offers an integrated solution that has earned us a PIA award for excellence in architectural design in 2012. From conception to delivery, no product can offer you a brighter or more uniform light panel for illuminating graphics or images. INSIGHT’s SmartWay system is a completely engineered, modular wayfinding solution, with plug and play components for easy maintenance and replacement. INSIGHT SmartFit brings our engineered lighting solution to its simplest form, allowing for SmartFit light panels to be inserted into generic box designs. Whether it is a brand new installation or an upgrade of existing signage, let INSIGHT give you the best advantage in the illumination of your wayfinding message. SmartEdge is smart business.
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TM
insightlighting.com / 505.345.0888
WORKSPACE
Gensler Washington, D.C.
Gensler is known for its expertise in workplace design, and its own offices are the proving ground. The Washington, D.C., studios manage to communicate the company’s professional spirit, its commitment to sustainable design and wellness, and its local roots. Just inside the glass doors off K Street in downtown D.C., the firm’s local and international cred is made obvious right away. Behind the reception desk, a clear glass wall features a map graphic with magnetic dots identifying worldwide office locations. Opposite, the topography of Washington, D.C., is carved into dramatic wood fins lit from above to create a textured screen. Throughout, bold colors and simple graphics are layered on glass, wood, and wall surfaces. A dramatic open staircase cuts through the center of the space, connecting the first and second floor studios. A band of red running continuously on floors, ceilings, and glass walls refers to founder Arthur Gensler’s “rubber band” business philosophy—the idea of challenging clients without pushing them so far that their trust is compromised.
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In the fabrication lab, two layers of glass keep noise from permeating the other studios. The double-glass requirement resulted in a layered graphic treatment.
Want to show off your Workspace? Contact pat@segd.org
Throughout the office, walls are set aside for staff to create art exhibitions or display ongoing work.
Photos: Michael Moran
At the top of the central stair, a dimensional color-block display celebrates staff members. Photos are printed on magnetic sheet for easy updating. In the reception area off K Street, a dramatic wood screen (left) represents the topography of Washington, D.C. Across the reception area, a map graphic on clear glass identifies Gensler offices worldwide.
A coffee bar brings employees together for social time and brainstorming.
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DISPLAY YOUR VISION
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Burlingame, Carl Crossgrove/Monotype
Allan Haley Monotype Allan Haley is Director of Words & Letters for Monotype, the global typeface designer and provider. We spoke with him recently about scaling type across platforms, from print and signage to interfaces and display screens. Does type on screen “behave” differently than in print or on a sign or display? Yes. Type on screen won’t pick up the nuances that print or 3D will. Many typefaces have been redesigned specifically for on-screen use, primarily for e-books. Helvetica E-Text, for example, has increased lower-case x-height and the character spacing is more open. Mobile devices are really where everything seems to be going right now, so designers need to pay attention to that.
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So how do designers pick the right typeface to use across platforms? Ideally, choose a typeface design that has been specifically engineered to work well across a variety of screen environments. This criterion really limits the number of typefaces available to you. Depending on the screen platform, you’re dealing with less physical real estate and varying resolutions. So look at typefaces that will perform well in less than ideal onscreen environments. Those will be typefaces with large X-height and moderate contrast in stroke thickness. If creating hierarchy is important, not all typefaces are created equal. There are subtle but important differences between medium and bold or semi-bold. That works fine for print or 3D, but on a lowresolution output device, screen logic may kick you up to the next level, so that medium and bold look pretty much the same. These are the differences you need to know about and account for.
What other factors should designers consider in choosing typefaces across various platforms? You won’t choose the same way you would for print. You may be in love with thin or light fonts, but they don’t transfer well to screen environments. This is why there was such a flap about the Apple Mobile OS using Helvetica Thin. There are lots of typefaces that do work well across the spectrum. Again, pick the medium weight. Sans-serif typefaces translate well to on-screen environments, but you need to test the typeface on each device that it will appear on so you’ll know. If you want to use serif typefaces, look at robust ones that don’t have a lot of thick and thin contrast, like Rockwell or Officina. For the video of Allan’s presentation at the SEGD Exhibition & Experience Design Workshop, go to https://segd. org/scaling-typography
City of Nashville Designer: Informing Design (Pittsburgh, PA)
Nemours Children’s Hospital Designer: Stanley Beaman & Sears (Atlanta, GA) Perkins + Will (Boston, MA)
CCBC Designer: Ayers Saint Gross (Baltimore, MD)
Inspired by Design. Powered by Innovation. Committed to Perform.
Let’s traveL together Design collaboration: DG Studios & mcgarrybowen
Building upon our 34 years of award winning performance and experience, GableSigns understands what it takes to make a great project. We have been working with EG designers since our beginning days, and never underestimate or compromise what a great partnership can achieve. From custom signs & architectural graphics, to dynamic digital displays, our team is here and ready to help on your next project. For more info, contact us at 800.854.0568
Cabana Bay Beach Resort Designer: WrenHouse Design Debra Wrenhouse
www.GableSiGnS.com
NO. 11, 2014
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