Recently we posted a link on our Facebook page referencing a great piece of collaborative design between German company ASB Systembau and longtime glass manufacturer Kinon Porz. Called the ASB GlassFloor, this interchangeable court serves as a multi-disciplinary sports environment. The advanced flooring comprises of multiple, highly treated and hardened ceramic glass panels, below these sit carefully placed LED lighting strips. The LED strips form the basis of the courts boundaries and markers. The glass is treated specially to offer the same desired effect as hardened wood or other sports flooring so the playing ball doesn’t decide to bounce in obscure ways and the reflection is not a hinderance. The LED lighting can be toggled remotely via the flick of a switch, adapting to sports such as badminton, basketball, indoor soccer or hockey, and handball or volleyball.

This

idea is so simple it begs the question why hasn’t it been done before? Like many ideas perhaps it has been conceptualised and thought of, worked and re-worked, funded and not, either way it’s a great piece of design. It opens many doors for environmental design and wayfinding and we are sure that more of this technology will find it’s way into experience design in public spaces. The more we intergrate technology and embrace these opportunities with considered design, the more we will find ourselves being inspired by the world around us!

In the latest edition of EG magazine (NO.2), the international journal of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design, Editor in Chief Pat Matson Knapp has an interesting take on the 2012 SEGD Global Design Award entrants. Like Goldilocks, the jurors were in search of designs that were not too big and not too small, not too hot and not too cold! In other words they were looking for designs that didn’t overpower or didn’t fall short of the impact it could have in its respective environment. Designs that weren’t too trendy, or,

of-the-moment and lacking in an essential vitality. In other words they were after environmental graphics, wayfinding systems and designs that were “just right”.

So with that said, BrandCulture were lucky enough to be recognised as one of these “just right” designs. The environmental graphics and wayfinding work we were commissioned to do for Sydney Water in Potts Hill, By the sweat of their brows, received a coveted Merit Award. The comprehensive EGD program we implemented for Sydney Water  celebrates their rich heritage and we’re honoured to know that industry professionals see our work as “just right”!

Just begs the question, would’ve Goldilocks got lost in the forest if there was a “just right” way finding and EGD system…?

Artwork by Kristen C.Stewart.

The Australian Human Rights Commission wanted the opportunity, when they moved to their new offices, to express what they stood ready passionately for and believed in. If you are going to stand for anything in this life what better cause could there be than Human Rights. BrandCulture were humbled by the opportunity to undertake this project in collaboration with Woodhead International Interiors team, Jones Lang Lasalle Property and Property Advisory Australia.

After the two World Wars and the atrocities that were suffered globally The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written. Quote ‘Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people’.

The above essential text resonates for all employees at this Australian Government department in one way or another. BrandCulture undertook a typographic exploration throughout the new office environment on Pitt Street, Sydney. There was a need for wayfinding and environmental graphics, which came together in a successful branded environment.

The wayfinding concept on the main public floor that houses

the two large hearing rooms references famous Australian Human Rights activists. For the rest of the environment room numbers were integrated into the typographic designs on the entry doors for each room. Utility rooms were identified using typography applied to the end sections of door entries so they could be seen from down the corridor.

Check out more images of this project here, we hope you enjoy it ->> >Every Voice – Australian Human Rights Commission

More publications……

segdDESIGN have recently published

their magazine, issue 34 which features BrandCulture’s World Square Car Park. Their statement, says ” Whether they’re placemaking, camouflaging, or guiding, these parking garage graphics put the FUN in functional….” here here!!

Multi storey car parks have a complex set of navigation challenges for a wayfinding designer to address. Consideration for the needs of pedestrians and motorists – differentiating between arrival and departure journeys as well as service or vendor routes. Competing distractions vying for driver attention i.e. the hunt for vacant spaces, absent minded pedestrians and reversing cars all need to be taken into account. Unlike many environments where the design brief is for discrete solutions that remain largely invisible until required, a car park of this size needs clear advice that is hard to miss.

Our research showed that the line of sight for the two main users, ie motorists and pedestrians and truly understanding the traffic flow of the space used were key to creating an innovative wayfinding system. These principles ultimately led to a better understanding of how cognitive mapping and circulatory navigation would help the outcome. Using intuitive design featuring full height icons, type and colours viewable over long distances; the second from the more elevated position of a pedestrian standing, the experiential factor then became a differentiator between this car park and so many others around the globe, and helped gain industry best recognition.

What a great way to start the year, BrandCulture have just received their brand-new, shiny copy of “Follow Me – Wayfinding & Signage System” by SendPoints Publishing which includes four of our projects; Sydney Water Parramatta, World Square Car Park, Mirvac Perth and UTS – Find & Discover.

As we believe, wayfinding is ultimately a science: the science of helping people find their way around. But just as importantly, there is an art to creating appealing, logical wayfinding systems as key opportunities to connect and communicate. When done successfully, wayfinding is a discipline that understands how individuals make decisions and perceive the environment when navigating unfamiliar spaces, and then responds with intuitive, aesthetically appealing results.

Wayfinding can be defined as spatial problem solving. It is knowing where you are in a building or an environment, knowing where your desired location is, and knowing how to get there from your present location. A good wayfinding system gives strong indicators of where the user is and how to get to her destination from her present location. Wayfinding problems occur when decisions cannot be

executed.

With each project we take a scientific and creative approach to designing Wayfinding systems that have meaning and impact. This publication contains 126 applications and 49 concepts, sharing international knowledge and pioneering new concepts and designs for wayfinding, in the built environment.

Frame Publication have just published a new book: Colour Hunting: How Colour Influences What We Buy, Make and Feel explores the very depths of the subject. BrandCulture have a 3 page spread on the World Square Car Park for Multiplex.

The book is categorized into three chapters. In the first chapter, ‘Commerce’ (buying/ selling), experts cast a light on colour trends and dissect the use of colour in branding messages. The following chapter, ‘Aesthetics’ (making), offers an insight into the conceptual use of colour, as well as the challenges and techniques entailed when applying colour to a wide range of materials. The relationship between body, mind and colour forms the focus of the ‘Wellbeing’ (feeling) chapter. Additionally, facts about colour interspersed throughout the book trace what colour has meant to people and cultures down through the ages in every part of the world.

This book takes us on a colourful journey, hunting out and broadening our horizons into the immense potential of colour. With an appreciation of every nuance, tone, tint and shade, the possibilities are truly infinite.

www.framemag.com

Publication Details
Title: Colour Hunting
Subtitle: How Colour Influences What We Buy, Make and Feel
Release date: June 2011
Author: Jeanne Tan
Compiled by: Hanneke Kamphuis and Hedwig van Onna
Published by: Frame Publishers
Language: English
Size: 200 x 265 mm portrait
Format: 264 pages, full colour, hard cover
Price: €49.90 (excluding shipping costs)

We are proud to announce another award win for BrandCutlure for it’s submission in this years SEGD Awards.

There were a total of 452 entries from which 28 projects were selected for recognition. Once again UTS – Find & Discover, received a Merit award, the SEGD’s second highest award in the program.

The Jury comments:
“An incredibly cohesive environment, with the environmental graphics working hand-in-hand with the architecture and machinery. The floor graphics are appropriate for the user and space, effectively combining wayfinding, interpretive graphics, and safety.”

“Very simply, the environmental graphics work. Color and type and graphics are done sensitively and are appropriate to the environment.”

The Award ceremony this year was at Hyatt Regency, Montreal for the 2011 SEGD Conference+Expo+Awards.

Wayfinding is ultimately a science: the science of helping people find their way. But just as importantly, there is an art to creating appealing, logical wayfinding systems that add context to your journey. The function of wayfinding is to inform people about their surroundings in the (unfamiliar) built environment. It is important to show information at strategic points to guide people in the right directions. See more on Wayfinding…

BrandCulture have been involved since the preliminary stages of the upgrade to StarCity – Tabcorp and recently completed and installed a sustainable wayfinding system (see the directory map above, which was the core of the wayfinding design). The aim was to reinvigorate the Back of House area where thousands of staff service large areas of retail, commercial and entertainment spaces every day. The wayfinding system needed to be flexible and sustainable to accomodate future changes, and this was considered in the selection of materials and manufacturing processes. The key objective in designing this system was legibility in such a high traffic environment where people and machines share the same complex, monotonous and confusing space in the belly of the complex. There are no windows or reference points to recall and navigate by and new staff are recruited every day by the many divisions.

The Sydney Water – Paramatta Headquarters core concept reflects the ‘journey to Parramatta’. The journey begins on the ground floor in the building lobby and arrives at the destination on Level 16 breakout. Each lift lobby features a graphic representation of the river sections, listing the meeting rooms for easy navigation, as shown in the image below. While the environmental graphics are a strong feature adding context to the building and the Sydney Water brand, the wayfinding information is clear and concise directing you to the meeting rooms.

The car park below the building continued the graphic styling of the environmental graphics used in the wayfinding thoughout the building, as you can see in the image below.

Landmarks, orientation and navigation are the characteristics which influence the way we interpreted the built environment with many of our Wayfinding projects; World Square car park, University of Technology – Find & Discover, Mirvac Perth, to name a few. The research process was a huge, important step to understand the built environment and where information was needed to maximize legibility of wayfinding systems, as shown in the image of the Sydney Water car park.

Dopress Publishing recently published a book entitled Find Me! It includes 4 of our projects and shows great examples of environmental graphic design and wayfinding, worldwide. Check it out!

BrandCulture’s environmental branding project devised for The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry covers more than 38,000 square metres across two buildings in Canberra. The site required a complete brand experience that would represent the department appropriately to all staff, suppliers, visitors and clients.

Working with Reid Campbell, BrandCulture created a branded environment to reflect the Department’s varied role across Australia, with the geographically diverse landscape of Australia forming the basis of the wayfinding system and theming of the Marcus Clarke and London Circuit buildings.

Glass and stainless steel structures featuring monochromatic super-graphics form the centre-piece of each theme in the main Marcus Clarke building. Interconnected floors throughout the building alternate the themes. The top three levels house a 10-metre super-graphic feature adjacent to the staircase void.

Front-of-house areas display floor-to-ceiling iconic Australian images that span entire walls, emphasising the themes and values of the Department to all stakeholders. Consistent theme images were applied to the glass beside each meeting room and office entry, allowing visibility and transparency from the outside in. This also cleverly provides an effective level of privacy for meeting room occupants while adding visual impact and embellishment of the theme.

Staffs working areas display time-lapse graphics showing the everyday experience of individuals in industries represented by the Department: agriculture, fisheries and forestry. The rising and setting sun in the background creates a strong visual link between each floor and reflects the rhythm of the working day tied endlessly to the natural environment.

Large wayfinding panels feature in each lift lobby. Expressed through different colour schemes throughout the building, they communicate the themes that underlie the Department’s focus. Three sections can be updated individually – floor theme, map and business units. They are easily altered as the groups expand, contract and change, to cater to the Department’s commitment to the public benefit. Bespoke iconography was created for easy readability and to aid navigation, orientated in line with the geography of the building. From services such as IT, basic facilities and meeting room locations, these panels are key for guiding those who are unfamiliar with the floor layouts in both buildings.

Click here to see the projects in our portfolio section.