Advanced Typography (ArtDes422)

Note: I recall someone designing wayfinding for the STAMPS School of Art & Design earlier this year who mentioned that they did not like the ceiling hangs in the ECHO hallway in the building. However, because the rest of the hallway in the East Hall Basement is barren, I don’t think there will be much that would cause you to miss this type of sign!

I traced one section to understand what was going on, and recreated it by hand. Here are also some early sketches of how I could apply this system to certain signs in the building.

Moodboard The building contains the Department of Child Psychology—shouldn’t that, and the fact that study administrators want to encourage new students to come and participate in their research, come across in a friendlier way in the infrastructure’s design?

Colors, Part II Some of the colors I sampled, as described in my notes from Part 1

Colors, Part I It was suggested that exploring color in my project would be a suitable next step in my research, so I first took time to jot down my initial thoughts on how the current floor plan uses colors to create distinction and direction.

Much of the signage does not follow the official Campus Wayfinding and Signage Guidelines—some are simply typed on paper! My objective for this project is to redesign the wayfinding experience in the first and lower levels of the East Hall building in order to provide better differentiation between the existing labs, classrooms, and conference rooms. I also aim to provide a better sense of equilibrium between the main entrances, creating an experience that makes navigation from the street-facing side the same level of feasibility as with using the East University Mall-facing side. Doing so will help establish the infrastructure’s reputation as one of being welcoming and fit for learning. This is an absolute necessity for facilitating quality research among faculty and incoming students for  years to come. I plan on achieving this through a universal language or system that unites all sections of the building. Part of this is inspired by Disneyworld’s character labeling of their parking lot system, in which parents remember that they are located at the “Donald Duck” section, and not 7A-3, for example. I will also focus on updating the building’s floor plan itself.

I arranged the examples I took from East Hall in order of decreasing quality. Why, after a few years, are the paper directions still taped to these columns?

Disabilities Accommodations  Both sides of the building are ADA compliant. In the entrance on the side facing East University Mall is a small wheelchair freight, because one would normally have to walk up three additional steps to get into the general lobby area.

Edit: According to some of the interior floor plans, the strip is called the East University Mall.

Wednesday, September 2nd My first try at making navigation in the East Hall basement easier

With so many students that need to access the room, with many being first years, how could we have designed a space that is so confusing and intimidating?