NO. 13, 2015
NO. 13, 2015
eg EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS MAGAZINE
1935
Ed Matthews opens first Matthews Paint store on Belmont Avenue in Chicago
1955
Ed Matthews Jr. joins Matthews Paint
1968
Moves corporate office to Wheeling, IL
1993 1995
Moves corporate office to Pleasant Prairie, WI
1985
Joins SEGD
2009 2015
Introduces MAP-LV Ultra Low VOC. Moves to Delaware, OH
WWW.SEGD.ORG
800.323.6593 • www.matthewspaint.com •
2012
PPG buys Acquires 1-Shot, Lacryl Matthews Paint and Field Master
THE WORK AND PLAY ISSUE
GRAPHIC GENIUS PANASONIC
NUMBERS IN NATURE
UP CLOSE
HUNTER TURA
ACHITECTURAL DATA PLANKS
MULTISTORY DIGITAL TOWER
STREET SIDE IDENTITY
SEE MAGNIFICENCE FROM EVERY ANGLE...
...SEE YOU IN CHICAGO Michigan Avenue, otherwise known as the Magnificent Mile, attracts millions of visitors each year from all over the world. Now, this high-end shopping district has a new kid on the block... The Verizon Destination Store. GableVision recently completed this exciting project for Verizon featuring energetic digital displays, custom accent applications, a strong exterior logo brand and much more. To see details about this project, visit us at gablevision.com or gablesigns.com. And if you are heading to the SEGD Conference in Chicago, be sure to stop in and check it out!
SIGNS | DIGITAL DISPLAYS | LIGHTING
Society for Experiential Graphic Design A multidisciplinary community creating experiences that connect people to place
SEGD BOARD OF DIRECTORS President Vice President Treasurer
Jill Ayers, Design360, New York John Lutz, Selbert Perkins Design, Chicago Patrick Angelel, CREO Industrial Arts, Everett, Wash.
Steve Bayer, Daktronics, Brookings, S.D. Jody Graff (Ex Officio), Drexel University, Philadelphia Cynthia Hall, Seattle J. Graham Hanson, Graham Hanson Design, New York Alan Jacobson, ex;it, Philadelphia George Lim, Tangram Design, Denver (Ex Officio) Amy Lukas (Past President), Infinite Scale, Salt Lake City Bryan Meszaros, OpenEye, South Amboy, N.J. Stephen Minning, BrandCulture Communications, Sydney Steven Stamper, fd2s, Austin, Texas Gary Stemler, archetype, Minneapolis Julie Vogel, Kate Keating Associates, San Francisco
SEGD CHAPTER CHAIRS 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
Izone
Charlotte, NC Kelley Bozarth, kelley.bozarth@littleonline.com Kevin Kern, kkern@505design.com Scott Muller, SMuller@trademarkvisual.com Chicago Julie Maggos, j.maggos@interiorarchitects.com Cincinnati Hannah Anderson, handerson@msaarch.com Margaret Vennemeyer, mvennemeyer@bhdp.com Cincinnati Hannah Anderson, handerson@msaarch.com Margaret Vennemeyer, mvennemeyer@bhdp.com
PROJECT DESIGN Hunt Design PHOTO Mason Cummings/Parks Conservancy
Exterior Signage Solutions Bold, Vivid Graphics that Last Fade, Scratch, Graffiti Resistant Recycled Content
Proud to be a Member and Exhibitor for over 10 years!
2 — eg magazine
Dallas Pamela Abeyta, pamela@valiantdesigners.com Austin Frith, afrith@dfwairport.com Edinburgh Lucy Richards, lr@studiolr.com Jacksonville Steve Williams, steve@harbingersign.com Carol Lombardo, flagalpal@gmail.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 Gretta Fry, gretta.fry@spye.co 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 Brian Dyches, bdyches@openeyeglobal.com to San Diego 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 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 pat@segd.org Executive Editor Ann Makowski Founding Editor Leslie Gallery Dilworth Design Wayne-William Creative Executive and Editorial Offices 1900 L St., NW Suite 710 Washington, D.C. 20036 202.638.5555 www.segd.org Advertising Sales Kristin Bennani kristin@segd.org 202.713.0413
Postmaster: Send address changes to eg magazine, 1900 L St., NW, Suite 710, Washington, DC 20036. © 2015 eg magazine SSN: 1551-4595
Ed Matthews opens first Matthews Paint store on Belmont Avenue in Chicago
Ed Matthews Jr. joins Matthews Paint
Moves corporate office to Wheeling, IL
Moves corporate office to Pleasant Prairie, WI
Joins SEGD
PPG buys Acquires 1-Shot, Lacryl Matthews Paint and Field Master
Introduces MAP-LV Ultra Low VOC. Moves to Delaware, OH
800.323.6593 • www.matthewspaint.com •
You’ll find even more great content—and innovation—on the new SEGD.org. Under the Xplore tab, you’ll find content indexed by five core EGD/XGD practice areas and 12 industry verticals. Also under the Xplore tab, you’ll find a rich library of SEGDTalks videos from SEGD workshops. Take a look at the new videos, including the presentations from the recent SEGD Wayfinding Workshop held in San Francisco. They make for some fascinating viewing with respect to the innovations happening in the wayfinding service offer. And look for additional articles we’re posting on design service innovation. You’ll see how our members are totally reinventing their design practices AND experiences in public spaces.
WWW.SEGD.ORG
Subscriptions: US $80/year, International $125/year. Send US funds to eg magazine, SEGD, 1900 L St., NW, Suite 710, Washington, DC 20036. To charge your order, call 202.638.5555.
Work and play spaces are just two of the many venues where EGD and XGD can make a dramatic difference, and1993 where 1935 1968 1995 2012 your value as experience designers is made crystal clear. With an ever-increasing palette of tools available to you, and in an 1955 1985 2009 2015 almost unlimited number of public and private environments, your opportunities for innovating with design are infinite. We hope this issue will help you see and take advantage of those opportunities.
NO. 13, 2015
EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS MAGAZINE
eg magazine is the international journal of SEGD, the Society for Experiential Graphic Design. Opinions expressed editorially and by contributors are not necessarily those of SEGD. Advertisements appearing in eg magazine do not constitute or imply endorsement by SEGD or eg magazine. Material in this magazine is copyrighted. Photocopying for academic purposes is permissible, with appropriate credit. eg magazine is published four times a year by SEGD Services Corp. Periodical postage paid at York, Penn., USA, and additional mailing offices.
Innovation is a word that threads itself throughout the issue. At Panasonic, a high-impact graphics system by GHD | Graham Hanson Design actively conveys the company’s focus on innovation by celebrating inventors and how they have changed the world. At a remote park in Coaticook, Quebec, Moment Factory has innovated the experience of visiting the forest by creating a fantasy world using light, sound, and vivid storytelling.
eg
Editorial, Subscriptions, Reprints, Back Issues 202.638.5555 segd@segd.org
You know what they say about all work and no play…. It makes for very, very dull designers. In this issue, we’ve set out to show how experiential graphic design can transform both work and play spaces by engaging, inspiring, and inciting. From Fortune 500 corporations to cool new co-working spaces and from museums to beaches to theaters, we’re sharing a wide range of projects that demonstrate how design can energize and innovate. NO. 13, 2015
Kathleen Turner kathleen@segd.org 703.657.9171
Work and Play (and Innovate)
THE WORK AND PLAY ISSUE
GRAPHIC GENIUS PANASONIC
NUMBERS IN NATURE
UP CLOSE
HUNTER TURA
On the cover: Panasonic celebrates world-changing innovation at its new North American headquarters. See story, page 24.
Clive Roux CEO
eg magazine — 3
CONTENTS THE WORK AND PLAY ISSUE
2 FEATURES (23)
WORK IT
Branded workspaces are fertile ground for communicating company values, inspiring employees, and advancing cultural change. (24)
Graphic Genius 1 UP FRONT (10)
(28)
Design Forward
Found
Newell Rubbermaid, Kalamazoo
(14)
Snap-on, Kenosha
Architecture imitates art in Melbourne, running for the plane in Narita, and faster, brighter, higher at Adidas
Review
Calori & Vanden-Eynden’s Signage and Wayfinding Design, 2nd edition (16)
Out There
Translucent panels, ultra-slim displays, and transparent OLEDs
4 — eg magazine
Panasonic’s North American headquarters celebrates innovation and the world-changing people who make it happen.
(30)
The Right Tool for the Job (34)
Surf’s Up Make, San Diego (36)
Connecting the Dots
GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia
2 FEATURES (41)
PLAY TIME
You know what they say about all work. These environments elevate leisure time to a high art. (42)
Mad for Math
The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago hides math lessons in an engaging, high-tech exhibit. (48)
Day at the Beach
Annenberg Beach House, Santa Monica (50)
Making Trails
Mt. Stirling Alpine Resort, Mt. Stirling, Australia (52)
Magic Forest
Foresta Lumina, Coaticook, Quebec, Canada (54)
Taking the Stage Playhouse Square, Cleveland
3 INSPIRATION (62)
Sketchbook
The sketching life of former animation artist Richard Walsh (64)
Workspace
Leviathan’s industrial loft space in Chicago’s Fulton Market (68)
Up Close
Hunter Tura, CEO of Bruce Mau Design, on the 21st Century Designer
eg magazine — 5
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UP FRONT (10)
Found
Architecture imitates art in Melbourne, running for the plane in Narita, and faster, brighter, higher at Adidas (14)
Review
Calori & Vanden-Eynden’s Signage and Wayfinding Design, 2nd edition (16)
Out There
Translucent panels, ultra-slim displays, and transparent OLEDs
FOUND 10 — eg magazine
PHOTOREALISM
Art as architecture, or architecture as art? The 2 Girls Building in Melbourne brings art to life with a photographic skin and sculptural elements that recreate Australian photographer Samantha Everton’s vivid photo Masquerade, which depicts two girls in a theatrical domestic setting. Everton collaborated with local architecture practice Kavelleris Urban Design to mingle the disciplines of fine art, photography, and architecture on the façade of the mixed-use building. Large parts of the image are laminated inside safety glass (by DigiGlass) while other elements are reproduced on de-embossed concrete patterned to mimic the photo’s wallpapered backdrop. Illuminated, three-story sculptural lamps (also recreated from the original photo) add a third dimension. It’s a beautiful example of life imitating architecture, imitating art. (Photo: Peter Clarke)
At Narita International Airport in Japan, “running for my flight” has taken on a whole new meaning. The airport’s new terminal—built in advance of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo—is devoted exclusively to low-cost carriers, and its construction budget was about half of what is typical for a facility of its size. To cut costs, Tokyo-based creative lab PARTY (collaborating with consultants Nikken) skipped the traditional moving walkways and instead covered the route from check-in to gate with running tracks. The color-coded circuit integrates simple wayfinding messaging and also provides a comfortable walk for travelers. Retailer Muji provided colorful terminal furnishings. Overall, the result is a simple chic that redefines the notion of “low cost.” (Photos: Kenta Hasegawa)
DNUOF
ON THE RUN
eg magazine — 11
FOUND 12 — eg magazine
FASTER, BRIGHTER, HIGHER Almost 100 years after Adolph “Adi” Dassler and his brother Rudy started making sports shoes in their mother’s washroom, the Adidas founder might be surprised to see how his company’s offices have evolved. One of the latest projects at the Adidas’ center in Herzogenaurach (near Nuremberg, Germany) is a new gym featuring the super-scaled typographic stylings of Büro Uebele (Stuttgart). With a “faster, further, higher” mentality aimed at pumping up the energy for Adidas employees, the walls of the gym are filled with huge numbers and letters up to 10 meters tall. More than just feel-good wallpaper, they mix and reinterpret expected colors from the sports world and numbers that tell key stories of German sports: a huge illuminated 54 on the ceiling represents Germany’s World Cup win in 1954, while the number 13 was lucky enough for beloved footballer Gerd Müller. (Photos: Brigida González)
Younts Design Inc. (Baltimore) collaborated with the San Francisco Giants on The Yard at Mission Rock, a pop-up shipping container village in San Francisco’s newest waterfront neighborhood just south of AT&T Park. The look is simple and industrial. Inspired by shipping-container graphics, YDI created a logo and graphic system that can be stenciled and applied easily to any surface. The graphic system includes identity signage and graphics as well as restroom signs, wayfinding, and surface graphics. YDI also extended the brand to the Yard’s website. The project team included Mark Hogan Architect, Hathway Dinwiddie (project planning), Nibbi (general contractor), Urban Bloc (container fabricator), and VKK Signmakers Inc. (sign fabrication). (Photos: Younts Design Inc.)
DNUOF
POP-UP CHIC
eg magazine — 13
REVIEW
Signage and Wayfinding Design, 2nd edition Signage and Wayfinding Design: A Complete Guide to Creating Environmental Graphic Design Systems
Wiley, 2015 When SEGD Fellow Chris Calori’s seminal Signage and Wayfinding Design was published in 2007, it was the first book in 25+ years to focus on a defined process for the modern interdisciplinary “science” of signage design. In June 2015, Wiley releases the second edition with major updates. Calori and co-author David Vanden-Eynden (founding principals of Calori & Vanden-Eynden, New York) spoke with us just as the new edition was going to press. What were you trying to accomplish when you originally wrote Signage and Wayfinding Design? Chris: At that time there was really no solid body of knowledge out there about wayfinding and signage design, partly because it is (still!) not taught as degree-granting program. The only book that focused on the process was John Follis’ Architectural Signing and Graphics, which came out in 1979. It was ground breaking, but out of date. There were other books out there and they were useful, like Wayne Hunt’s two books
14 — eg magazine
and those by Gail Deibler Finke, but they were primarily case-study books. They didn’t specifically address process. In graduate school, I developed a defined approach to signage design. I called it the signage pyramid: a three-pronged approach that encompasses the information content system, the graphic system, and the hardware system. After years of applying it in our practice, we realized it was something that worked and had relevance and was a good theoretical underpinning. We wanted to “own” the approach and share it. What are the challenges of writing a book on this topic? Chris: The very multidisciplinary nature of what we do. And the fact that you really can’t study this in any formalized educational program. I think Iowa State has the only gradlevel major in this. You
may be able to take a class in undergrad, typically as part of a graphic design program, but what our field does goes so much beyond graphic design. Graphic designers generally don’t understand scale or 3D form or materials. They’re used to working with ink on paper or pixels on screens, all one-to-one. And if an architect gets into this business, they typically don’t have the typography and communication design skills. David: Then there’s the fact that it’s so complex. Just trying to list all the ingredients and how they should be combined and in what proportions is an ambitious undertaking. What has changed about signage and wayfinding since 2007? Chris: Technology. And not just the phenomenon of digital screens, but how digital technologies are impacting communication, fabrication, and graphic application processes.
In 2007 mobile phones were common, but not smartphones. The documentation and presentation tools available today, like BIM and other visualization models, have exploded and make our jobs a lot different. Our communications tools— Skype, GoToMeeting, etc.—have also changed things drastically. David: And digital printing, of course, which has revolutionized what we can do with imaging on substrates. Now 3D printing is fundamentally changing how we approach the design and manufacturing process. In our own practice, we’re looking at how we can
incorporate it into in our work through mock-ups, models, and even signs themselves. It will open up so many more avenues for creativity and make infinite variation possible. For the second edition, what additions and revisions can we expect? Chris: The very coolest thing is it’s all in color this time! Of course we give a lot of attention to technology. We’re all wrangling with the super-fast-changing world of digital. We provide some definitions that help frame the conversation moving forward, distinguishing between things like digital signage (non-interactive but
Cornell University Stocking Hall Dairy Plant • Ithaca, New York
David: This edition also includes a lot more photos, updated case studies and representation from a lot more firms, including international firms. At least 60% of the photos are new in this edition. It’s a bigger and better book.
What did you learn from your first experience writing the book that made things easier this time? Chris: I’m not sure it was easier! But I was really happy to be able to update it, because so much has changed since the first edition came out. I’m really honored we’ve had this chance to make it even better. We actually did the art direction and cover design this time, which was fun for us. When you write the third edition 10 years from now, what changes do you predict you’ll be writing about? Chris: It’s impossible to predict the future. But we think that the core of what we do will be the same 10 years from now. When people navigate a space, they still need to get from Point A to Point B. They may be using different devices to help them, but we still live in a physical world—that part of wayfinding will never change. I’m guessing we’ll get better and better at integrating the static and digital realms of wayfinding. And hoping that EGD continues to gain recognition for the value it brings to people.
Circuit of the Americas • Austin, Texas fd2s
Gallery
Calori & Vanden-Eynden/Design Consultants
with changeable information), interactives, and handheld devices. It also deals with the new changes to the ADA guidelines, which are impacting our field dramatically and which more designers should know about and be involved in. We also added a section on sustainability, another incredibly important topic for our field.
Gallery
10
11
eg magazine — 15
OUT THERE
A
B
C
D
INNOVATIVE MATERIALS, PRODUCTS & TECHNOLOGY 16 — eg magazine
New product to share? Contact pat@segd.org.
A
B D
TRANSPARENT OLED
C
DUETS DIRECT
Planar Systems unveiled new transparent OLED technology designed for museum, retail, and other experience design applications. Transparent displays allow users to view what is shown on a glass video screen while still being able to see through it, enabling them to overlay digital images onto real objects that sit behind the glass. Planar introduced a 55-in. prototype early this year and anticipates adding transparent OLED technology as a product offering in early 2016.
Gemini’s new subsidiary Duets Direct offers premium engraving, ADA, and architectural sign substrates direct from the factory. Products include DuetsTactiles™ for ADA and appliqué applications, Laser and Laser XT for indoor and outdoor laser and rotary engraving applications, Laser XT Reverse for outdoor or indoor reverse laser and rotary engraving applications, DuetsContours™ 0.20” gauge for flexible substrate engraving applications, and Rotary for indoor rotary engraving applications.
The front-installable, front-serviceable 2.5mm pixel pitch display is ultra-slim, lightweight, and has bezel-free screens that can be scaled to any size. The up-close display is seamless, modular, and delivers unparalleled edge-to-edge clarity, says NanoLumens. It is backed by a six-year, zero-failure warranty.
OleeVue translucent panels and films are designed for healthcare, education, and corporate environments, providing a cost-effective alternative to laminated glass and encapsulated resin panels. They are available in Monotones (monochromatic patterns) or Hues (colorinfused patterns) as ready-to-install panels or self-adhesive film. Both pre-designed and custom products can be made to specification.
Planar.com
DuetsDirect.com
Nanolumens.com
OleeVue.com
NANOSLIM ENGAGE
OLEEVUE
eg magazine — 17
Systech | functional style
Systech/new ad/IN
Adaptable sign systems Manufacturing for more than 30 years
Contact us for your local Systech dealer Email info@systech-signage.com Call 800 807 1931 www.systech-signage.com
FEATURES (23)
WORK IT
(41)
PLAY TIME
Branded workspaces are fertile ground for communicating company values, inspiring employees, and advancing cultural change.
You know what they say about all work. These environments elevate leisure time to a high art.
(24)
Mad for Math
Graphic Genius
Panasonic’s North American headquarters celebrates innovation and the world-changing people who make it happen. (28)
Design Forward
Newell Rubbermaid, Kalamazoo (30)
The Right Tool for the Job Snap-on, Kenosha (34)
Surf’s Up Make, San Diego (36)
Connecting the Dots
GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia
(42)
The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago hides math lessons in an engaging, high-tech exhibit. (48)
Day at the Beach Annenberg Beach House, Santa Monica (50)
Making Trails
Mt. Stirling Alpine Resort, Mt. Stirling, Australia (52)
Magic Forest
Foresta Lumina, Coaticook, Quebec, Canada (54)
Taking the Stage Playhouse Square, Cleveland
W
WORK IT BRANDED WORKSPACES ARE THE NEWEST FRONTIER.
I
n a competitive global marketplace, design is a tool that many companies have discovered can advance innovation, facilitate cultural transformation, communicate brand values, and help recruit and keep top talent. As corporations also discover new ways of working and collaborating—including mobile work environments, open office plans, and innovation labs—design becomes a catalyst for changing employees’ ways of thinking and their very approaches to work. “Organizations are much more conscious of the power of embedding their brand in the physical workplace,” says Graham Hanson, principal of GHD | Graham Hanson Design (New York), whose team has designed branded workspaces for the likes of Google, American Express, and Panasonic (see story, page 24). Graphics can also bring life to open office plans, which can otherwise become vast uninspiring expanses of desks and
Panasonic headquarters, Newark, N.J. (Photo: Deborah Kushma)
monitors, says Brian Brindisi, design director in Gensler’s lifestyle-brand design studio in New York. “It’s really critical to giving employees a sense of identity. Like wearing your college sweatshirt or putting a bumper sticker on your car, it provides a little gleam of individuality within a shared workspace.” Reduced material costs and ease of installation now make it much easier for companies to create brand-rich spaces that reflect their values and mission—and help them win over employees, customers, and new recruits. “It’s really a war for talent,” notes Hanson. “Companies want cool workspaces so they can attract the best people. Whereas in the past, architectural finishes were limited to paint and stock wallpaper, now there are whole new worlds of conceptual engagement possible. When you can communicate who you are in the workplace and create some energy around it, your employees, potential employees, partners, and customers will get the message.” eg magazine — 23
WORK IT GRAPHIC GENIUS
On each of the building’s seven main floors, a major innovator is celebrated and graphics portray his or her worldchanging work. 24 — eg magazine
Panasonic’s North American headquarters celebrates innovation and the world-changing people who make it happen. By Pat Matson
PANASONIC NORTH AMERICA HEADQUARTERS Client Panasonic North America Corp. Location Newark, N.J. Architecture Gensler (building), HLW International (interior architects) Design GHD | Graham Hanson Design
Design Team Graham Hanson (principal), Adam Tanski (senior designer) Fabrication Drive 21 Materials Avery SF103 (vinyl), NovAcryl PT Series (ADA and acrylic signs), Terralon Earth Intelligent Wallcovering Photos Deborah Kushma
I
nnovation drives Panasonic and is at the heart of everything the company does. But sometimes, even huge multinational corporations need to be reminded of their roots, and that was at least part of the motivation behind Panasonic’s new LEED-Gold-designed North American headquarters. When the company decided to move from Secaucus, N.J., to the Newark waterfront just across the river from Manhattan, it wanted to celebrate innovation and the people who make it happen. It chose GHD | Graham Hanson Design (New York) to translate what “Innovation” means in the new 340,000-square-foot workspace. The goal was not only to engage and inspire employees, customers, and new recruits, but to reflect the spirit of change the brand is currently undergoing, says Tom Murano, Director of Brand Strategy at Panasonic North America Corp. “We wanted to create a modern, world-class facility to support the future of Panasonic and create synergies that closely align with our strategic goals. And we wanted to ‘live our message’ by fully integrating the brand with the built environment.” To do that, adds Murano, the office needed to embody collaboration, inspiration, and innovation.
On the ground floor, GHD provided a color-coded overview of the innovators featured throughout the building. Clear acrylic panels appear to float in the space.
eg magazine — 25
WORK IT Making their mark The existing condition would not be difficult to improve upon, says Graham Hanson, whose firm won a competitive RFP process to design the environmental graphics, basic building signage, and wayfinding. “The Secaucus office was dark and dreary, with essentially no brand presence.” In large part, he adds, the project’s goal was to “to help reinvigorate a complacent workplace culture that lacked an innovative paradigm.” The new office is located in a brand-new, Genslerdesigned 12-story building that earned both LEED Gold (core and shell) and Platinum (commercial interiors) certifications. The interior design, by HLW International, provided an open, sun-drenched canvas for environmental graphics, with large windows and great views of New York City. The GHD team launched the design process with discovery interviews with Panasonic employees, then initiated a series of conceptual studies focused on how to bring the Panasonic brand to life. “Innovation is a theme they’ve used for many years for obvious reasons and continue to push, so it was a clear choice,” says Hanson. The question then became, “What does that look like?”How do we bring that vision to life in a tangible, compelling way?” The final solution was fairly straightforward: Honor and celebrate a diverse selection of historic innovators and the world-changing designs they created. “In this setting, we thought it would be most effective to show people examples of innovation in an overt, tangible, and understandable fashion. Within this culture, it seemed more effective than nuanced or abstracted graphics.”
New ways of thinking The team researched and chose seven great innovators— being careful to balance the representation by gender, race, and culture—to be the “stars” of the building’s main floors. So in addition to Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein, the graphics feature American computer scientist and U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, Marie Curie, and African American inventor Granville Woods. The 12th/executive floor is dedicated to the innovations of Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita and other innovators who work for the company. (Current CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga’s patents were incorporated into the graphics, and during a site visit when the new office opened, he signed the wall that features his innovations.) For each of seven main floors, the team assigned an innovator, a color palette, and one of Konosuke Matsushita’s basic business principles (honesty and fairness, cooperation and team spirit, etc.). Environmental graphics include large-scale photographic portraits of the
26 — eg magazine
innovators as well as wallcoverings featuring their actual patent drawings and notations, overlaid with inventive typographic treatments inspired by the linework drawings. “The draftsmanship-like quality of the drawings became the basis for the visual vocabulary carried through the space,” says Hanson. The team combined, manipulated, and overlapped Helvetica BQ, Times New Roman, Rockwell, and Futura to complement the drawings. Signage uses Helvetica BQ.
Real-world challenges The drawings and their inspiration were a bonus for the GHD team: a key project challenge was making a graphic impact in the large office space while staying in budget, and through their research, they discovered they could use the patent drawings in the public domain. “During the initial phases of the project, we learned the budget wouldn’t cover expensive stock imagery,” notes Adam Tanski, GHD senior designer. “The budget was more focused on fabrication and installation costs. With that in mind, we purposely chose innovators/inventions that were historically iconic and had imagery available in the public domain and/or royalty-free.” The project also had LEED goals that impacted material choices. The new headquarters are part of Panasonic’s effort to be the leading green innovation company in the electronics industry by 2018, the corporation’s 100th anniversary. Tanski chose Nova Polymers’ NovAcryl PT Series for ADA and acrylic signs. Painted-MDF NAUF (No Added Urea Formaldehyde) panels were used for floor directories, and Tanski specified Terralon Earth Intelligent Wallcovering throughout. He investigated environmentally friendly alternatives to vinyl film but the manufacturer would not warranty the product for its specific use, so Avery SF103 was used for all glass graphics. Despite the budget and LEED challenges and a tight timeframe, Panasonic is enthusiastic about the results, and believes the new environment inspires employees and advances Panasonic’s changing brand culture. “It’s all about living our brand message,” says Murano. “A significant reason for the positive and uplifting reaction to the building was the very collaborative process we had with Graham Hanson’s group. They were extremely professional and adaptive to the unique culture of a multinational Japanese company like Panasonic. We found creative solutions within the scope/budget and dedicated the time and attention to meet a tight deadline as well. [Panasonic CEO] Mr. Tsuga noted after visiting our new headquarters that it is the best Panasonic office in the world and reflects the spirit of change that the brand is currently undergoing.”
“ The draftsmanship-
Each floor was assigned a saturated color palette and wall covering featuring patent drawings by the innovators.
like quality of the drawings became the basis for the visual vocabulary carried through the space.
”
Conference room privacy glass features the linework reproduced on Avery film. Room ID signs use NovAcryl PT series.
eg magazine — 27
WORK ITFORWARD DESIGN Newell Rubbermaid builds a new design center to accelerate its focus on innovation.
Super-scaled numbers cut from the slatted-ash wall treatment identify immersion labs where products are designed and tested. 28 — eg magazine
NEWELL RUBBERMAID DESIGN CENTER Client Newell Rubbermaid Location Kalamazoo, Mich. Project Area 9,100 sq. ft. Open Date 2014 Interior Design Perkins + Will Design Team Eva Maddox, David Sheehan, Ellen Anderson, Stephen Mai, Kim Rosseau Fabrication Xibitz Inc. Photos Steve Hall, Tom Harris
The lobby space reflects the rich design heritage of Southwestern Michigan as well as the simplicity, beauty, and craft of products designed and made there.
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or Newell Rubbermaid, creating a global design center accelerates its quest to use great design and innovation as a competitive advantage. Its new 40,000-square-foot design center in Kalamazoo, Mich., was purpose-built to centralize its brand design talent, who work on products as wide-ranging as plastic storage, baby strollers, tools, and Sharpies. Perkins + Will was inspired by the rich design heritage of Southwestern Michigan (home of Herman Miller, Steelcase, and other design-forward companies), as well as the natural beauty of the region and the products made there. The team created a clean palette of materials native to western Michigan, keeping the colors natural and neutral for creation of new products. The P+W team chose patterns, textures, and sculptural approaches to express creativity and offer rhythms of inspiration. The most striking features are wall treatments made of Michigan ash, including a 200-footlong latticework canopy that starts in the reception area and extends most of the building’s length. P+W and Xibitz (Grand Rapids, Mich.) collaborated to create mock-ups and prototypes to confirm the design direction, and Xibitz fabricated and installed the interior elements. P+W’s objectives were to make sure the center was an attractive, inspiring space that would help the company recruit and retain designers, as well as appeal to partners in marketing and manufacturing. The space also introduces a new approach to design collaboration, creating areas that house cross-functional work and maximize the sharing of ideas. Teaming hubs, private incubators, and lounges facilitate collaboration. Immersion labs, where products are designed, made, and tested, are the focus of the center. So they’re called out by super-scaled numbers situated along an axis wall, cut from the slatted-ash wall treatments. The overall result is a space where about 100 multidisciplinary design professionals work together toward a common goal: systematically improving the company’s products and product experience.
The lobby feature wall is made of endgrain Michigan ash, covered in a black stain that allows the grain to show through.
eg magazine — 29
WORK IT THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
Snap-on mounts a high-impact exhibit to celebrate its centennial.
Collaborating with Xibitz, Kahler Slater chose a minimal color palette, simple forms, and flexible display systems for a 150-ft. timeline (left) and a multi-functional aluminum railing that holds graphics and other artifacts (right). 30 — eg magazine
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ith its 100-year anniversary approaching, iconic toolmaker Snap-on wanted to celebrate its success with the people who made it possible: its employees and its loyal and passionate customer base. And of course to stay on-brand, Snap-on needed the right tool for the job. Snap-on worked with Kahler Slater (Milwaukee) to create the Snap-on Museum, a new experience in the company’s Kenosha, Wisc., headquarters. The 4,350-square-foot space doubles as a corporate museum and special-event dining room. Kahler Slater’s primary challenge was devising a way to display hundreds of artifacts— from the company’s iconic interchangeable socket and wrench sets to a Model-T—in a cohesive way. They achieved the goal by keeping it simple, with a minimal color palette including a black backdrop and impactful use of the company’s signature red. The design team and fabricator Xibitz (Grand Rapids, Mich.) created a shop feel with an inset, illuminated cabinet that runs 150 feet through the length of the museum, organizing content in a linear fashion. Black
metal peg-board allows artifacts to be moved and changed easily. On the other side of the space, a custom rail system allows additional storylines. The multi-functioning rails allow graphics to be inserted in the rails, magnetic graphics to adhere to the face, and heavy 3D elements to lock into the rails. In keeping with the company’s famous “5 do the work of 50” selling line, the space is also multifunctional, also serving as a unique dining experience for special company events. Snap-on fabricated custom mobile toolboxes that display and store artifacts—and can be wheeled away so that tables can be set for a fine dining experience. The result is an aesthetic that communicates the high-performance methodology behind the company’s products and brings the brand to life for employees, customers, franchisees, and the local community, says Tony LaPorte, Kahler Slater’s design director and project manager. “The final solution seamlessly integrates brand and space and ultimately reflects the high precision of the Snap-On brand.”
SNAP-ON MUSEUM Client Snap-on Inc. Location Kenosha, Wisc. Project Area 4,350 sq. ft. Open Date August 2014 Design Kahler Slater Design Team Tony LaPorte (design director/manager); Jason Gamm, Ryan Tretow (designers); Amber McCracken (interior architect); Darin Frerichs (project architect) Fabrication Xibitz (exhibit fabrication), Riley Construction (general contractor), Creative Technology (primary digital/tech integrator), Samsung (digital displays), Medex (non-glare glass, paint, graphic film, direct printing), Crestron (controls), JBL (audio) The iconic red feature wall is embossed with the company’s founding year. Custom metal grate panels backlit with LED panels frame the entry.
Photos Peter McCullough
A toolbox aesthetic is on-brand for the new Snap-on Museum at the company’s headquarters in Kenosha, Wisc. eg magazine — 31
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WORKSURF’S ITUP
Rapt Studio creates a co-working space, California style.
On-site surfboard and bike rentals are part of Make’s amenities package. The beach is a five-minute bike ride away.
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o-working spaces are popping up all over the world, social and creative hubs for people who want to get out of their basements and into a professional workspace but don’t want to take on the costs of rent and equipment on their own. In San Diego, they’re doing it surfer style. Make is a 175,000-square-foot workspace in a converted floral trade warehouse. Rapt Studio (San Francisco) came in on the ground floor, working with real estate developer Cruzan to envision a space where businesses will design and make things, from sportswear to software. Opening this summer, Make will be home to big and small companies that will come together in a 40-foot-wide, L-shaped breezeway cut out of the interior. Tenants will gather around a barbecue pit and watch movies projected onto an outdoor screen in an amphitheater. Shuttles will take them to the beach and the Coaster commuter train station. Other amenities will include on-site showers, a gym, and green space. The Rapt design team built the experience from the ground up, including strategy, naming, identity, and architecture. “We wanted to establish a place where creative companies could thrive, and where people can immerse themselves in the culture of the community,” says David Galullo, Rapt principal. “We’re creating a scenario where your business walks into a set stage for your productivity.” And since this is California after all, the cool factor is high. Rapt collaborated with surfboard maker Salt Surf and Linus Bike to provide rental equipment that will be available to tenants (the beach is just a fiveminute bike ride away), and commissioned artist Jason Woodside to paint a vibrant mural. While the building is undergoing renovation, a temporary sales office/showroom is set up in repurposed shipping containers. The containers will also be incorporated into the final build, used for the café and bike and surfboard rental outpost.
MAKE Client Cruzan Location San Diego Project Area 175,000 sq. ft. Open Date June 2015 Design Rapt Studio Design Team David Galullo (design principal); Cory Sistrunk (design principal/creative director); Sam Farhang (design director);
Michael McDonald (project manager); Sam Gray (art director); Karolis Kosas, Donald Koide (graphic designers); Leon Wood, Michael Maciocia (designers); Iván Saragusti (operations) Consultants/Partners Smith Consulting Architects (architect of record), Lusardi (general contractor, construction), Sign Grafix (neon sign fabrication), Jason Woodside (shipping container mural artist), Salt Surf (surfboards, hand painted by Rapt Studio), Linus (bikes), Office of James Burnett (landscape), Essence Printing (print collateral) Photos Weston Colton
A mural by artist Jason Woodside adds vibrancy to shipping containers used as a temporary sales office/showroom.
Make is a 175,000-sq.-ft. co-working space opening in a converted floral trade warehouse. The L-shaped cut in the center of the building is a common breezeway where tenants will gather for social events. eg magazine — 35
WORK CONNECTING IT THE DOTS GlaxoSmithKline communicates a brand focused on health and well-being.
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oused in a Double Platinum LEED-certified building designed by Robert A.M. Stern, GlaxoSmithKline’s new U.S. headquarters was conceived as a healthy and sustainable office for a company with well-being as its heart. Located in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard, it is also an innovative mobile workplace: no one has an assigned desk, not even the company president. Pentagram Partner Michael Gericke and Associate Don Bilodeau and their team were tasked with creating environmental graphics for this new kind of workspace. Their goal was to create iconic graphics that would enliven the space and help foster a spirit of connection for a new collaborative way of working. The Pentagram team worked closely with interior architects GSK and Francis Cauffman
to develop the graphics for the contemporary, 208,000-square-foot space. Inspired by the idea of connections, they created a series of largescale murals that recall dot-to-dot drawings. Used to identify office zones, “hub spots,” and office amenities like the cafeteria, they convey the concepts of community, collaboration, interaction, and creativity. The collaborative focus extends to the materials. Many of the graphic wall surfaces use magnetic dry-erase wall coverings so teams can write on them during brainstorming sessions. The bright and contemporary graphics color palette was coordinated with the overall palette for the interiors, including the furnishings, interior finishes, and wallcoverings. Signage and illustrative wayfinding elements are also part of the mix.
Pentagram’s environmental graphics for GlaxoSmithKline’s new headquarters feature bold murals that communicate the concepts of community and collaboration.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE Client GlaxoSmithKline Location Philadelphia Project Area 208,000 sq. ft.
Design Team Michael Gericke (partner-in-charge/ designer); Don Bilodeau (associate/ designer); Jed Skillins, Qian Sun, Beth Gotham, Elizabeth Kim (designers) Fabrication Visual Graphic Systems Inc.
Open Date 2013
Architects Robert A.M. Stern (architect); HSK, Francis Cauffman (interior architects)
Design Pentagram
Photos Peter Mauss/Esto
The program also includes signage and illustrative wayfinding cues.
Graphics provide vibrant hits of color to identity hub spots in the new mobile workspace.
eg magazine — 37
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PLAY TIME YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT ALL WORK. HERE ARE SOME ENVIRONMENTS THAT ELEVATE LEISURE TIME TO A HIGH ART.
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rust Albert Einstein who said, “Play is the highest form of research.” Or Ralph Waldo Emerson who proclaimed, “It is a happy talent to know how to play.” We all spend plenty of our waking life working, which makes play all the more important. And environmental and experiential graphics can make playtime truly engaging, sensorial, and memorable. As the projects on the following pages illustrate, graphics can transform a walk in the woods, a day at the beach, or a visit to the museum into learning, experience, and just plain fun. At the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica, signage and graphics are the visual backbone of a new space that serves as a gateway to the public beach. Playhouse
Numbers in Nature exhibit, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. (Photo: MSI)
Square in Cleveland provides a note of spectacle to theatergoing, and at the Mount Stirling Alpine Resort in Australia, bushwalkers learn about the beautiful landscape and how to help protect it. And at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago (MSI), the new Numbers in Nature exhibit uses play to teach basic math concepts—without museum visitors even being aware they’re learning. “Our goal is to get as many senses involved as possible,” notes Olivia Castellini, senior exhibit developer for MSI. So visitors to the museum—young and older alike—enjoy immersive film, hear a custom soundtrack, touch interactive exhibits, and move their bodies using gesture-based interactives and a 3D mirror maze. “We want them all in when they’re here,” adds Castellini. eg magazine — 41
PLAY TIME MAD FOR MATH
At the center of the exhibit is a mind-bending 1,800-sq.-ft. maze that allows visitors to actually step into a three-dimensional pattern, in this case a triangular tessellation.
42 — eg magazine
Numbers in Nature is the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago’s latest permanent exhibit. The 7,500-sq.-ft. exhibit teaches math by showing visitors the four major types of patterns found in nature.
The Numbers in Nature exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago uses digital technology and nature’s own graphic language to teach visitors about math. By Pat Matson
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hen the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago conceived its latest permanent exhibit, the design brief was concise and non-negotiable: Create an artful and immersive way for visitors to explore the beauty of mathematical patterns found in nature. And make it cool. Realizing that for many people math is truly a four-letter word, MSI staff plotted and planned for more than two years, talking to countless museum visitors and testing approaches that would make the content fun and educational. Through the user interviews, they honed in quickly on the idea of patterns found in nature, and how these patterns are repeated in art, architecture—and human bodies. The museum teamed with exhibition planning and design firm Luci Creative to approach the topic and create content and experience goals around four ubiquitous patterns found in nature. The central intent was to create a sense of wonder and excitement through fun and experiential activities, including interactives. Technology would most certainly be in the mix, says Castellini, “But first and foremost is the experience. We want people to have a good time and we want to offer an experience they can only have at MSI.” Rather than hitting museum guests over the head with complex equations and mathematical principles, the Luci Creative team was tasked with creating an exciting environment to learn about math—without letting people know they were learning about math, says AJ Goehle, Luci Creative’s director of design & strategy. The overall design aesthetic for the 7,500-sq.-ft. exhibit uses the Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequencing in nearly all dimensionalities, as well as the essence of nature itself as a guiding visual statement.
NUMBERS IN NATURE Client Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago Location Chicago Project Area 7,500 sq. ft. Open Date 2014 Client Team Kurt Haunfelner (vice president, exhibits and collections), John Beckman (director, exhibit design and development), Olivia Castellini (senior exhibit developer), Mark Ewing (senior exhibits project manager), Faith Griggs York, (exhibits project manager), Angela Williams (design manager), Margaret Schlesinger (curator), Nicole Kowrach (director, teaching and learning), DeDee Ludwig-Palit (manager, student experiences) Exhibition Planning and Design Luci Creative Design Team Kevin Snow (creative director), AJ Goehle (director of design & strategy) Interactives and Film Leviathan Fabrication Ravenswood Studios Consultants Lightswitch (lighting design), Harvest Moon Studio (script writing) Photos Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
eg magazine — 43
PLAY TIME “We wanted to illustrate the patterns in nature, teach guests how to see patterns that make up the natural and man-made environments, and recognize that patterns are simply an expression of math. We wanted them to leave saying, ‘Math isn’t as scary as I thought it was, and it’s everywhere!’” says Kevin Snow, Luci’s creative director. Castellini and her MSI colleagues knew that media and digital technology would be important tools for engaging visitors, so they added Leviathan, a Chicagobased conceptual design studio, to the team to create an immersive introductory film and 12 interactives. “Our job was to figure out a new approach to visualizing these patterns that occur in the natural world—and show how they also occur in human bodies,” says Jason White, executive creative for Leviathan. Working in close collaboration with the MSI exhibit development staff, the Leviathan team immersed themselves in spirals, the Golden Ratio, Voronoi patterns, and fractal branching—all examples of how nature divides itself into finite, predictable patterns. MSI staff had a technology “ask list” already developed, and it included the latest technologies like Kinect cameras and Leap motion sensors. At the very top of the list was an ultra-widescreen film experience that would reel visitors in as they entered the exhibit and prepare them for learning about these “Numbers in Nature.” The result is a curving, 25-ft.-long by 7-ft.-high immersive screen that delivers a compelling story in heart-stopping 4838x1400 resolution. Serving as the backbone of the exhibit, it introduces visitors to all of the mathematical patterns and creates a unique visual language that flows throughout the exhibit. “Ultimately, we invented a new visual language based on MSI’s designs that is educational and fits all the patterns at the exhibit’s heart,” says White. “We helped design this system using white spiral, voronoi, and fractal branching patterns that are superimposed over colorful footage of nature, the human body and architecture.” The film experience combines highdefinition cinematography with motion graphics and visual effects, as well as an original score by Joel Corelitz of Waveplant. Luci Creative divided the exhibit into three major zones, including two galleries that introduce visitors to the math concepts and a mind-bending, 1,800-squarefoot mirror maze that allows visitors to actually step inside a three-dimensional pattern. The maze is a sea of equilateral triangular chambers that repeat in a dizzying array of mirrors (called a tessellation pattern). “It was MSI’s idea to include the maze. We worked with them to develop the look and feel to reflect a forest of natural patterns, tree branches, and a bit of fantasy,” says Goehle. 44 — eg magazine
“ We want people to have a
good time and we want to offer an experience they can only have at MSI.
”
In the interactives gallery, 12 stations invite deeper dives into the content. Visitors can virtually explore 3D spirals, Voronoi diagrams, and other essential natural patterns by waving their hands or touching interactive screens. Combining analog controls such as knobs, wheels, and blocks with touchscreens, Kinect cameras, and Leap Motion sensors, Leviathan’s team created experiences that would appeal to both children and adults. One of the most complex interactives is called the Vitruvian Man. It is a digitally enhanced two-way mirror that lets visitors see if their proportions comply with the Golden Ratio. “When you look in the mirror, 3D cameras track your skeletal system in real time and measure your proportions, then you can compare that with the Golden Ratio,” says White. “People line up for this and they walk away with a real understanding of how these mathematical patterns work in their own bodies.” The project posed some daunting technical challenges, says White. Rendering times for the HD film, for example, were “mind-boggling.” And calibrating content to interaction times and visitor throughput was a major factor in designing the interactive stations. Working with the MSI staff was an amazing and atypical experience for a team that is more frequently collaborating with major brands on product launches or entertainment acts on performances, says White. “First, to work on a permanent exhibit for the largest science museum in the Western Hemisphere was very cool,” says White. “But the best part was working so closely with a team of these extraordinarily smart individuals—PhDs who were always on hand to consult with us on the script or the fine details, or giving us pointers on how things should and shouldn’t be explained. When we got too design tech-y, they were there to root us in the mathematics.” Castellini says that while the interactives help make the exhibit a great success, they aren’t the exhibit’s raison d’être. “Technology is great, but the most important thing is finding the right way to tell the story,” she explains. “What is going to convey the content best? It might be digital and high-tech and it might be a simple analog solution. We let the experiential goals and content lead.”
The Vitruvian Man display uses a Pepper’s Ghost effect to display graphic information and proportions over a mirror reflection of the visitor. A Kinect camera trades bodies and dynamically draws the lines with a real-time engine.
Interactives make learning about scientific patterns captivating. Programmed with TouchDesigner, patterns come to life with custom touchscreen technology. The patterns become more complex as users’ engagement increases.
In the interactive gallery, visitors can diver deeper into the patterns, using touch- and gesture-based interactives designed by Leviathan.
eg magazine — 45
Ravenswood Studio
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Luci Creative and Ravenswood Studio, we jump in wherever you need us! Together we can plan, develop, design, engineer and build your project. We create experiences, exhibits and environments for museums, corporate visitor centers, retail, and entertainment clients. Our passion lies in the creation of experiences that embrace and dimensionalize the essence of your story in our 100,000 sq ft studio and shop just 20 minutes from downtown Chicago or O’Hare International Airport!
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PLAY TIME A DAY AT THE BEACH Environmental graphics add to the fun factor at a storied beach destination.
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ANNENBERG COMMUNITY BEACH HOUSE
The new Annenberg Community Beach House sites on the former estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his movie star mistress Marion Davies.
Client City of Santa Monica Location Santa Monica Project Area 5 acres Design/Build Team Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects (architect), Charles Pankow Builders Ltd. (contractor)
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ike a Hollywood film actress, the five acres of oceanfront property at Santa Monica State Beach have seen days of glory and decline. The mansion where newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst and his movie star mistress Marion Davies hosted the rich and famous was later the home of the iconic Oceanhouse luxury hotel and beach club. After the mansion was demolished, the 1994 Northridge Earthquake destroyed or severely damaged most of the site’s remaining structures and it was left, aging and alone. That is until 2005, when the Annenberg Foundation stepped in to save the cultural history of the site, committing funds to help the City of Santa Monica restore the beach house as a public facility. The renovation was a design/build partnership between Frederick Fisher and Partners Architects and Charles Pankow Builders, and AdamsMorioka
and WeidnerCA were responsible for signage and graphics. The upbeat environmental graphics program provides a visual backbone for the new complex, which consists of the Annenberg Community Beach House and a series of indoor and outdoor spaces designed to serve as a public gateway to the beach. AdamsMorioka emphasized the sunny side, with a bright color palette and a kinetic system of interchangeable beach-inspired icons that feature stripes echoing the verticality of the new freestanding pool house column structures as well as the many palm trees surrounding the property. WeidnerCA’s challenge was to fabricate a system that would look as good as AdamsMorioka’s designs and also be resistant to the sun, salt, wind, sand, and curious children. The result is an environment just as inviting as a day at the beach.
Environmental Graphic Design AdamsMorioka Fabrication WeidnerCA Photos Sean Adams/AdamsMorioka
AdamsMorioka created an upbeat, day-at-the-beach palette for the signage system and used a beach ball as a recurring icon. eg magazine — 49
PLAY TIME MAKING TRAILS HeineJones creates a sympathetic interpretive sign system for a backcountry setting.
Mount Stirling is a popular cross-country and backcountry ski resort on the slopes of Mount Stirling in the Australian Alps. HeineJones was commissioned to create an interpretive trailer marker system for its most popular bushwalking trail.
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ount Stirling Alpine Resort is a cross-country and backcountry ski resort on the slopes of Mount Stirling in the Australian Alps, about 140 miles from Melbourne. It’s become a popular destination year-round: after the snow melt, hikers come to enjoy its beautiful Alpine Ash forests, Snow Gum woodlands, and breathtaking alpine meadows. When resort management decided Mount Stirling’s most popular bushwalking trail was in need of an interpretive solution and some minor wayfinding, they called on HeineJones (Melbourne). HeineJones’ goals were to help guide visitors along the trail, enhance their experience with the cultural and natural history of the region, and educate them about the fragility of the environment and how they can contribute to its care. With a limited budget, timeframe, and limited access to the trail, a simple, cost-effective, and easyto-install solution was required. HeineJones’ created a suite of interpretive elements that highlight local history and resources and presented the information on trail markers that provide visual clarity while blending into the natural environment. Sturdy cypress pine posts are laser-etched with the name of the resort and at eye level, partially encased in three-sided aluminum panels with digital prints applied. The interpretive panels provide simple trail wayfinding as well as walking distances between points of interest and information about animals and plants, helping to enrich walkers’ enjoyment of the trail. The low-cost and lightweight solution references the strong vertical aesthetic of the surrounding bush, as well as the angular nature of the alpine trees and undergrowth. Caps protecting the tops of the angled posts are color-coordinated with the interpretive panels. HeineJones chose the color palette in sympathy with the local environment, typically a gentle gray/ green punctuated by random spots of bright color. In time the cypress pine posts will fade to a silvery gray, allowing the design to blend further into the natural environment. HeineJones’ simple system allowed resort staff to quickly and easily install the infrastructure even though winter had started and trail access was limited. The signs were transported to site on a sled towed by a snowmobile, footings were hand dug, and the signs installed by hand. The in-ground rated timber allowed a simple earth backfill without the need for concrete. The design has proven popular with resort visitors and they have reported a much-improved appreciation and understanding of the resort and the beautiful natural environment.
MOUNT STIRLING ALPINE RESORT WAYFINDING INTERPRETIVE TRAIL Client Mount Buller and Mount Stirling Management Board Location Mount Stirling, Victoria, Australia
The markers provide visual clarity while blending with the natural environment. The pine posts will weather to a silvery gray. Color-coordinated caps help protect the posts from weather.
Project Area 16km (two trail loops) Open Date 2013 Design HeineJones Design Team Mike Heine (creative director), Steve Jones (production director) Fabrication Banana Graphics (aluminum display panels), Origin Laser (laser etching) Photos HeineJones
The system includes an angled, laser-etched cypress pine post partially encased by a threesided aluminum panel bearing interpretive and wayfinding information.
eg magazine — 51
PLAY TIME ENCHANTED FOREST Moment Factory brands a Quebec park with light, sound, and fantasy.
Mist and light mark the portal into Foresta Lumina.
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ow do you transform a quiet woodland park into a fantastical, fun, and family-friendly nighttime destination? The marketing team at eastern Quebec’s Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook asked Moment Factory (Montreal) to put their park on the tourist map by creating an experience that visitors wouldn’t forget. The Moment Factory looked at the park’s offer—hiking trails, beautiful natural surroundings, and the world’s longest suspended foot bridge, to name a few—and set to work creating a story around it. Inspired by the natural landscape and by the local legends of Coaticook, they created Foresta Lumina, an immersive nighttime attraction that uses sound, light, and video projection to bring magic to life along a 1.2-mile walking path. “Our goal was to create a rich, symbolic, and sensory universe to take people on a journey of the imagination,” says Marie Belzil, creative director at Moment Factory. From the moment visitors pass through Foresta Lumina’s mysterious, misty portal, they are plunged into a world where the magical seems entirely possible. Moment Factory introduced the show’s cast of seven mythical characters via giant illuminated laser-cut manuscripts. A vocabulary of mysterious runes ties together different elements of an interactive storyline that draws on universal symbols like fairies and wishing wells as well as local native legends like the monstrous Wendigo. Moment Factory used a range of techniques—from RGB illumination of custom prints to video mapping and thousands of hand-wrapped LEDs—to create an evocative environment that speaks to young and old alike. The team reinforced visual effects with an artful original soundtrack, creating a completely immersive experience. More accustomed to working in cities, the Moment Factory team had to create an experience that respected the pristine natural setting, so daytime visitors could still enjoy the landscape. The experience also needed to be removable for the harsh winter season. Moment Factory designed, fabricated, installed, and weatherproofed every element of the project, from the script and storyline to die-cut metal manuscripts to mysterious fairies and demons hiding in the trees. The team also worked closely with the park’s marketing team to help develop promotional materials and ensure a strong brand for the attraction. The result was Quebec’s success of the summer. Foresta Lumina surpassed every metric set for its success, with two-hour lineups for admission, ten times the attendance the park had forecast, and a revitalized brand for the park and the town. As the client had hoped, local hotels and restaurants reported huge increases in evening business and overnight stays, and the project was featured in regional, national, and international media. A 2015 version of the fantasy adventure will debut this summer.
FORESTA LUMINA Client Parc de la Gorge de Coaticook Location Coaticook, Quebec, Canada Budget 1 000 000$ CDN Project Area 1.5 miles Open Date July 2014 Design Moment Factory Fabrication Moment Factory, Alco Néon, Softbox, Show Devant Consultants Patricia Ruel (scenography), Marie-Eve Pageau (lighting design), Vincent Letellier (music), Dany Beaudoin (technical direction) Photos Moment Factory A transparent scrim makes video appear to float in mid-air.
Under a canopy of light, giant laser-cut manuscripts introduce a cast of fictional characters that inhabit the park’s nocturnal landscape.
eg magazine — 53
PLAY TIME TAKING THE STAGE Dramatic placemaking and digital technology shine new light on Cleveland’s historic theater district.
Digital components, including seven 8-ft.-tall sidewalk displays, incorporate double-sided, highbrightness LCD displays while maintaining the historical aesthetic. 54 — eg magazine
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leveland’s Playhouse Square theater district has been a major part of the city’s heritage since its Vaudeville houses and movie palaces first thrilled theatergoers in the early 1920s. The theaters went dark in the 1960s, but the district was resurrected in the 1970s, rejuvenating downtown Cleveland and ushering in a national revival of historic theaters. A new $16 million streetscape and signage program is its latest incarnation—a dazzling, color-saturated experience dominated by a 20-ft.-tall outdoor chandelier that has become an instant icon for the district and the city. Designed by The Barnycz Group with fabrication and engineering by Design Communications Ltd. (DCL), the retrovibed streetscape also includes digital kiosks, gateway arches, and marquee “spectaculars” reminiscent of Times Square. The largest performing arts center in the U.S. behind Lincoln Center in New York, the district attracts more than a million visitors a year. But the Playhouse Square Foundation wanted the excitement and energy happening inside the theaters to spill out onto the streets, especially Euclid Avenue, the city’s once-andfuture Main Street. A parking garage built behind the theaters in the 1980s allows most theatergoers to come and go via a covered walkway, effectively discouraging them from stepping outside onto the streets. “The job was to create a unique theatre district, and after touring the historic theaters, the big idea became clear to me: We needed to bring the inside out,” says Danny Barnycz. “All of the theaters were gorgeously restored and I wanted to recreate that feeling outside.” Inspired by the theaters’ ornate plasterwork and beautifully restored interiors, Barnycz transposed details of griffins and other architectural elements to the placemaking and signage. The 20-ft.-tall chandelier is the most dramatic case in point. Officially listed with Guinness as the world’s largest chandelier, it is suspended 44 feet above the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 14th Street on steel-and-aluminum arms that DCL engineered to support its 8,500-pound weight. Grand and rather surreal, it honors the aesthetic traditions of the old theaters and recalls Liberace and Las Vegas. It has also become an instant photo opp and social media sensation, looking especially dramatic against the night sky. Strung with 4,200 crystals of light-catching acrylic resin and incorporating 68 GE lighting fixtures, the giant gem is an antidote to Cleveland’s dark and punishing winter weather and seems to beckon with the subliminal message, “There is something exciting happening here. Come and see for yourself.” The multi-media element of the project adds a contemporary flair and functionality, but still stays in character. Barnycz knew that dynamic media would be important, and he wanted to add pedestrian-scale digital displays that would engage people in the district’s programming. So he designed seven 8-ft.-high sidewalk kiosks that hold double-sided, 72-in., high-brightness Barco LCD displays—fully visible in broad daylight—that communicate events and performance times. Their “gilded” frames and griffin details echo ornamentation from inside the theaters. The plaza is punctuated by a 30-foot-tall video screen covering 548 square feet. Four large marquee screens are also included, as well as a ticker-style screen on the TBS building. “Given the multitude of ever-changing programming that occurs within the various theaters, a digital platform was the ideal solution,” Barnycz notes. “And every screen at Playhouse Square is interactive, so that during the big events people can get involved. The whole thing feels alive, letting people be part of the experience.”
PLAYHOUSE SQUARE Client Playhouse Square Foundation Location Cleveland, Ohio Design The Barnycz Group Fabrication Design Communication Ltd. (DCL) Displays Barco Photos Courtesy The Barnycz Group
The centerpiece of the district is a 20-ft.-tall, 17-ft.-diameter chandelier suspended 44 feet above the street. .
Retro signage, including a 44-ft.-wide mini “spectacular” sign that is a throwback to the 1920s sign atop the district’s historic Keith building, adds to the sense of place.
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F Street Murals Las Vegas, NV 12 unique murals at 7 ft x 20 ft each
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INSPIRATION (62)
Sketchbook
The sketching life of former animation artist Richard Walsh (64)
Workspace
Leviathan’s industrial loft space in Chicago’s Fulton Market (68)
Up Close
Hunter Tura, CEO of Bruce Mau Design, on the 21st Century Designer
Richard Walsh SKN Creative Drawing has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. My high school math books were filled with drawings of hot rods, monsters, and visual interpretations of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” My mother, a high school math teacher, agreed that art school was the path for me! I’ve relied on my drawing ability in every job I’ve done. As a storyboard artist for animation, we would go through boxes of pencils, drawing hundreds of panels per show. As a designer for Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Studios, sketching was the main form of communication. Once the idea is approved, a tighter, to-scale drawing can be used for things like estimating, engineering, color, and materials.
My concept for the Cat in the Hat ride at Universal’s Islands of Adventure was inspired by the scene in the book where the cat is balancing everything and standing on a ball. My intent was to create the feeling that everything will soon be falling over! The final installation captures that initial idea.
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“ T he sketch can be a
beginning, or speak volumes as a finished piece of art.”
In my current position as Studio Director for SKN Creative, I’m constantly sketching in client meetings to get initial approval of ideas. That way there are no “surprises” in the design development presentation. As computers have become the norm for designers, I encourage younger designers to draw by holding workshops at the zoo and museums. The sketch can be a beginning, or speak volumes as a finished piece of art.
Here is a scale drawing of the main movie theater marquee and center icon for The Grove, a popular outdoor shopping/dining destination in Los Angeles. I was able to sell my idea to the owner through the scale drawing, and through the detail sketch, I was able to communicate my fabrication intent to the sign vendor.
eg magazine — 63
Leviathan, Chicago Conceptual design studio Leviathan rehabbed a 5,000-square-foot space within a creative loft building in Chicago’s bustling Fulton Market district. The neighborhood is evolving quickly from predominantly industrial factories and meatpacking shops to one of the trendiest in the city for real estate developers and tech firms like Google, says Jason White, executive creative director. “What initially attracted me to this neighborhood as a place to build a new studio was its great mix of Chicago’s art scene, top-tier restaurants and a tough, hardworking, urban vibe.” White’s vision was to create a balance between the loft’s industrial/vintage feel and the very contemporary, techoriented nature of Leviathan’s work. Timber, exposed brick and original hardwood floors echo the industrial past, while classic fine art-inspired graphics and pops of color refine the space. “Since we’re always trying to keep fine art present in our studio, we decided to create large-scale, digital Photoshop collages of classic Intaglio etching prints, combined with some custom Leviathan design work,” adds White. The prints were wrapped around particle board and hung so they create an effect of floating off the brick walls. Photos: Hedrich Blessing
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Leviathan’s new loft space is in the vibrant, transitioning Fulton Market neighborhood.
Want to show off your Workspace? Contact pat@segd.org
The workspace balances Fulton Market’s industrial vibe with Leviathan’s high-tech focus.
“ What initially attracted me to this neighborhood as a place to build a new studio was its great mix of Chicago’s art scene, toptier restaurants and a tough, hardworking, urban vibe.”
Photoshop collages of classic Intaglio etching prints subtly remind employees of Leviathan’s fine art roots. eg magazine — 65
INFORMATION
MaStair, by the artist Werc, 40 ft. tall stairwell column printed with Alice® on 1/2” low-iron tempered glass, El Paso, Texas
DESIGN + STRATEGY
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66 — eg magazine
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Let your imagination run wild.
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Discover what’s possible with 3M Architectural Finishes. With over 500 ready-to-install designs and limitless custom print solutions to choose from, your design options are wide open. Need a wall of stone? No problem. Want a luxurious wood conference room? You got it. Etched-glass windows? Consider it done.
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eg magazine — 67
Hunter Tura, Bruce Mau Design The 21st Century Designer As he travels the globe recruiting talent and guiding the strategic direction of Bruce Mau Design, Hunter Tura thinks a lot about the 21st Century Designer. And he says that if you want to be one, you need to act like Beck, think like an editor, and learn something from 1970s pornography. Was there an “a-ha” moment for you, when you thought, “Our way of working (or thinking) needs to change”? In 1997 when I saw the architectural theorist Jeffrey Kipnis speak at Harvard, he was asked who his favorite architect was and he replied, “Beck.” At that moment I realized that although I was being trained to be Howard Roark, the world had changed in such ways that Beck was a far more appropriate model— someone who was taking a set of existing fragments and attempting to create new hybrids as a result. It also taught me that frequently the most relevant models are outside the traditional confines of our discipline—and to always keep an open mind. 68 — eg magazine
How do these changes change the look and structure of design practices? I hope 21st Century design practices will become very different kinds of organizations than those that existed even 10 or 15 years ago. At BMD, we’ve done a couple of things that help us respond to changing conditions. The first was to establish a kind of Politburo, or Leadership Council, that I work with to help guide the future direction of the practice. We’ve spent a lot of time attracting a world-class team to BMD in the name of driving great work for our clients, so it would be shortsighted to not leverage this incredible pool of intelligence to generate new ideas for running our own practice. Next, we’ve unabashedly embraced the notion that we are a design business. In 2013, we brought on a CFO, whom I work with very closely to make sure that BMD is a well-run and sustainable business. For me this was a breakthrough moment because when I talk
Grounded Visionaries campaign, Harvard University
about the quality of work we deliver and the world-class nature of our team, if the business is poorly run that promise is fundamentally compromised. What do these changes mean for individual designers? I have no interest in “authorship” in design and believe that our responsibility as designers in the 21st century is to think about how things can be done more efficiently and sustainably. I’ve come to believe that an “editorial” worldview is one of the key qualities to responding to the changes we’re seeing in design. Paradoxically, I think it has the potential to deliver a richer kind of work. In 2012, we developed a brand campaign called “Know Canada.” Instead of trying to replace an existing national identity, we created a very simple framework to showcase Canada’s potential in the 21st Century. Ultimately, it was an editorial exercise: we simply removed the Maple Leaf from the Canadian flag, which
allowed the remaining two red bars to frame all of the amazing artists, writers, musicians, innovations, and landscapes that Canada has to offer. Is it true that you’re working on a book? Can you tell us about it? It’s about creative practice in the 21st Century. The first part is meant to be an easily digestible guidebook for how to think about innovation, entrepreneurship, and management in our contemporary situation. This more straightforward part is annotated by a series of insights, anecdotes, theorems, and personal recollections from my career in design. For example, there’s a section on pornography in the 1970s, which actually can tell us a lot about how to think as designers today.....but that’s all I can say on that topic right now!
ACHITECTURAL DATA PLANKS
MULTISTORY DIGITAL TOWER
STREET SIDE IDENTITY
SEE MAGNIFICENCE FROM EVERY ANGLE...
...SEE YOU IN CHICAGO Michigan Avenue, otherwise known as the Magnificent Mile, attracts millions of visitors each year from all over the world. Now, this high-end shopping district has a new kid on the block... The Verizon Destination Store. GableVision recently completed this exciting project for Verizon featuring energetic digital displays, custom accent applications, a strong exterior logo brand and much more. To see details about this project, visit us at gablevision.com or gablesigns.com. And if you are heading to the SEGD Conference in Chicago, be sure to stop in and check it out!
SIGNS | DIGITAL DISPLAYS | LIGHTING
NO. 13, 2015
NO. 13, 2015
eg EXPERIENTIAL GRAPHICS MAGAZINE
1935
Ed Matthews opens first Matthews Paint store on Belmont Avenue in Chicago
1955
Ed Matthews Jr. joins Matthews Paint
1968
Moves corporate office to Wheeling, IL
1993 1995
Moves corporate office to Pleasant Prairie, WI
1985
Joins SEGD
2009 2015
Introduces MAP-LV Ultra Low VOC. Moves to Delaware, OH
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800.323.6593 • www.matthewspaint.com •
2012
PPG buys Acquires 1-Shot, Lacryl Matthews Paint and Field Master
THE WORK AND PLAY ISSUE
GRAPHIC GENIUS PANASONIC
NUMBERS IN NATURE
UP CLOSE
HUNTER TURA