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We are looking for a mid-weight Environmental Graphics / Wayfinding Designer (industrial, graphic, architectural background) who is ready to step up.

The role requires a confident, experienced designer, who has strong conceptual skills (both in 3D and graphic design) and can think and work in 3D.  You need to be able to read architectural plans, work within parameters set by the client and the project, and communicate to the client and the wayfinding strategists your design solution rationale.

Most of our projects are in the built environment; hospitals, offices, transport hubs and urban settings. Most of our output are environmental graphics and signage.

Experience with 3D modeling is an advantage, as is knowledge of a package like ArchiCad. Good communications skills are essential.

Our team is small and we are based in Docklands. The designer has the opportunity to build a great design department within our company.

Please email us a CV and portfolio at info@idlab.com.au, and describe what you are able to contribute to our company.

Christoph Niemann has developed a series of abstract illustrations called My Way, based on the principle of Google maps, showing the most accurate routes for all occasions. Ranging from Main street to Wall street, My way or the highway and from Monday to Sunday. Clever wayfinding mixed with a sense of humor!

(C) Christoph Niemann: Ping-Pong

We have only just finished working on the bid phase of a PPP (Public Private Partnership – WikiPedia),  developing the wayshowing strategy for a large hospital and are already on to the next one.

PPP’s are challenging and exciting at the same time; challenging because the limited time that the team has to develop the design concepts, and exciting because the architects, landscape designers, interior designers and us wayshowing strategists, work very closely together.

A quality wayshowing system is a critical component of any complex built environment.

It employs established theories of human cognition and human factors research, to deliver information in a way that allow humans to intuitively and/or automatically navigate a complex environment.  It minimises the amount of time, attention, and energy a person spends finding their way to a destination.

Wayshowing strategists work with a number of built-form design disciplines from project inception through to implementation, review, and on going maintenance, to deliver buildings and environments that exploit innate human behavioural traits in order to achieve business or social outcomes.

Patients, visitors, educators, researchers, medical staff, administrators, retailers, delivery services, and the diverse surrounding community all have substantially different navigational needs. Additionally, within each user group, individuals use different methods of transport.

A successful wayshowing strategy ensures quality of service by carefully considering the individual needs of each type of user group, as well as the needs of the facility as a cohesive system. It requires a holistic approach, both geospatially and operationally.  To ensure quality and cost effectiveness, it is important that a wayshowing strategy develops in parallel with a hospital at all phases of development.

It is also important that the planning of the wayshowing system be front loaded at the higher conceptual levels or project development.  Doing so ensures consistency in the overall wayshowing strategy, which is paramount to a successful wayshowing system.  Front loading strategy also prevents the trickle down of wayshowing system defects that would require post design, post construction documentation, or post construction remediation.  Correction of such defects can be extremely costly and reduce the overall performance of the wayshowing system.

ID/Lab draws on its experience-based knowledge and current scientifically based research to employ a best practice wayfinding/wayshowing strategy. We utilise that knowledge and the research findings to assist architectural, interior, graphics, and urban designers with the development of both implicit and explicit environmental stimuli.

Apparently a Swansea council needed a road sign translated in Welsh’. An email was sent to the translator who had his “out of office” email reply activated, as he was out for the day.
This wasn’t known by the council staff who, happy with the fast reply from the translator, set about to print the Welsh text onto the road sign: I’m not in the office at the moment. Send any work to be translated.

Unfortunately they only found out after erecting the sign and Welsh readers spotted the mistake….

Confusing?

Then this is a very straight forward sign indeed!

Recently I rode around Yarra’s Edge via the Webb Bridge here in Melbourne, on my way to the DFO at South Wharf. I knew they were working on the drains there, but it all looked promising when I approached the Charles Grimes Bridge underneath. I was still optimistic when I saw the cyclists dismount sign, but I should have known better: When I rounded the screening I saw a flight of steps. I couldn’t believe it: Were they really implying I should carry my pushbike up the steep steps with my panniers and all? It now dawned on me why its called a pushbike!

I suppose I’m spoiled: Where I grew up, even when road works were in progress, a barrier in the form of steps never formed a real barrier:  A so-called bike-gutter or trough would be mounted to help-out cyclists during those works in progress. Wishful thinking?

Since I started dealing with signage, now almost too long ago to remember clearly….., I have been fascinated by sign writing. No vinyl cutters, no digital printers, no computer controlled advertising poster making. Just a couple of guys, high up, painting brilliant images on the side of a building.

On the site Likes & Likes, I came across this short documentary called “UP THERE”, which follows walldogs as they paint advertisements for Stella Artois on walls in SoHo, New York. Shot high above the streets of New York City, it reveals the dying craft of large-scale hand painted advertising and the untold story of the painters struggling to keep it alive. Directed by Malcolm Murray. Click this link for the video Up There

Source: www.opentype.info/blog

We found this really interesting article on the shapes and layouts of road signs on Ralf Hermanns’ OpenType info blog.

Dr. Raoul Bell conducted a study in which he found that the type of sign significantly influences the time we need to find the target. When all information was presented on one sign and without any separation, the targets could be found much faster. Bell argues that we perceive these objects as groups and only one group can have our attention at a time.

When the information is split into several groups we need to shift our attention from one group to the next, and therefore need more time to perform this task.

It is interesting to see how Australian road signage complies with this paradigm:

ID/Lab mostly applies the following principles to directional signage, which is based on direction & grouping:

The layout and order in which the information on a sign is listed has a significant effect on how quickly people can find the information they need.
People like to be able to read signs quickly, and most people will only give a couple of seconds to find the information. As a result, most directional signs should have limited information.

On larger directional signs, lines sharing a common direction should be grouped together. They become easier to scan and reduce the number of arrows required, enhancing clarity. Signs like directories should be arranged in alphabetical order, to avoid visitors having to read every line to find their department.

Grouping Messages Vertically:
Arrows are linked to the first line of message groupings which are then ranged left or right according to the direction indicated by the arrow.
Arrows to direct straight ahead normally appear on the left except when indicating a route with a bias to the right.

Messages ranged left are grouped above messages ranged right in the order shown below. Where space is restricted, a panel with all ranged left messages can be placed alongside a panel of all ranged right messages.

As a motorcyclist myself, one of the things that stuck in my memory from my trip to Vietnam last year, was how many motorbikes there were, and, more amazingly, how the drivers negotiated traffic. What seemed like total chaos in the beginning, turned out to be a well-oiled system.

Have a look at the video:

Anybody with a ‘western’ driver education would get in trouble here; expecting road users to stick to their side of the road or give way to the right or left.

So why does it work then? I think the answer is simple: Vietnamese understand and appreciate other users on the road. There is very little ‘I am right – you are wrong’ or ‘I am stronger/bigger/more aggressive/faster/flashier/younger/older/etcetera than you, and therefore I have the right of way’ going on there. Everyone slows down and lets other road users get on their way.

How different is this from our western environments! Lately, I have noticed so many traffic signs for behaviour that really could be resolved by applying common sense, or already existing rules.

What about this one:

Give Way in Miller Street, Fitzroy North

This photo was taken in a secondary, build-up, suburban street, where the maximum speed is 50km/h. The ’slow-down’ points allow for one car passing, emphasising the fact that one is meant to slow down here….. Would I speed up to ‘beat’ the car coming from the other side? No, I would not. Would you? Or would you look at the situation, and then sort out between the two drivers who goes first? And if the other one seems to apply to the ‘I am stronger/bigger/more aggressive/faster/flashier/younger/older/etcetera than you, and therefore I have the right of way’ category, perhaps he should go first then….

Capital City Trail sign

This is an other one: Taken on the Capital City Trail, one of the main cycling routes through Melbourne. Clearly a cycle path, with no cars. So, ‘authorised’ (?) maintenance vehicles use this path. What does this sign mean then? Has it now become the responsibility of the cyclist to be safe? Would the cyclist without that sign demand to cycle through/across/over the maintenance vehicle, because it is on his path? Or should the maintenance crew make sure they create a safe environment when they enter the cyclist’s? And perhaps both groups can work that out between themselves. I promise I will not shout at the maintenance crew when they are on the cycle path, and trust they will look out for me when they are working there.

And finally, this one: A train track crossing on the shared foot/cycle path that leads to the park from where I live.

Northcote – train track crossing

First, I got a bit confused because of the ‘No Entry’ sign on the gate on the left, which seems to be only applicable for the little caged area on the left. The environment clearly said ‘this is a path’ (being a continuation of that foot/bike path and all….. So I had to look out for trains? Thanks for reminding me, I am well known for intentionally getting into life threatening situations! And I could not cycle across? Why not, would that not get me to safety faster than walking??

I would love to hear from our blog readers what you think about this sort of signage, and perhaps you have some interesting examples of nanny signage to show?

Source:Cygnus blog and Center for Economic and Environmental Development (CEED)

How cool is this! Initiated in 2002, this “recyclable” sound like barrier fence is located along Route 322 at the gateway to Meadville. Read Between the Signs (RBTS) involves the design and fabrication of a sculptural relief made of discarded road signs and featuring solar- and wind-powered kinetic components. RBTS is attached to an existing chain link fence and depicts images and forms of local mountains, a watershed, roads, workers, farms and forests. This sculptural “fence” beautifies the gateway to Meadville, while creating a unique sense of place and identity for their community.

There goes our theory: Too many signs make an environment eligible – In Meadville they created the ultimate signage recycling exercise with 1000’s of signs and made their city very recognisable by creating a landmark along the gateway to Meadville!

Coles is the second largest supermarket chain in Australia. It has over 740 stores nationally and over 100,000 employees.

Their head office in Tooronga, Melbourne, has been going through an extensive make-over in the last 18 months; from a rabbit warren (affectionately named Starship Enterprise, because of its size and white shiny exterior), to open plan offices.

The main reason for the change was to encourage employees to communicate more and better with each other. Where individuals would pick up the phone to talk to a colleague or invite them to a ‘formal’ meeting, Coles saw benefits in creating an environment that encourages staff to ‘just walk over’ to someones desk, and have more informal and impromptu meetings.

Melbourne architects, Woods Bagot, did a great job opening up the building, but Coles found that navigation was still too difficult, with the result that staff still did not get of their chair enough! ID/Lab was asked to develop a navigation and placemaking strategy to ‘improve communication’ and ‘get staff to utilise it to it’s fullest potential – actively & easily engaging through the building’.

Critical to any solution is an understanding of how the current environment is perceived and used, and we issued a 3minute (yes-no answer) online survey for all staff, held focus group interviews and observational surveys to fully understand the building navigation and typical paths of travel.

The Coles Support Centre is inherently complex. The building is essentially several, linked buildings. The floor plates on each level have significantly different configurations and the work places are configured in a grid layout, with ‘streets’ cutting diagonally through the grid. Some of the results from the focus groups and surveys were that very few staff were able to create an accurate cognitive map of their workplace, and that the bad navigation created significant staff down-time, missed or late meetings, and an overall feeling of ‘not belonging’ and ‘feeling isolated’.

We have developed a strategy that addresses the issues found in the research stage, and are developing design guidelines for an holistic information system, which will address the current inconsistencies and provide a clearly comprehensible set of navigation tools. As soon as it has been implemented, we will show you the results!

Source: www.designswan.com

Design Swan discussed 8 Creative Metro Map themed designs on it’s blog. Who created them, and what was the idea behind it’s creation? We thought we could contribute to the subject by showing you a 9th design:

It’s ID/Lab’s website intro page which has indeed been based on the famous metro map. It goes well with what we do: Wayfinding/Wayshowing.

When we started the development of our website design, we set out to make the ease of navigation stand out…..  We thought it was important that you understand where you are at every step of the way, and can easily jump from one ‘destination’ to another.  You can choose between the “Projects”, “What we do” or “Profile” line. When you click on a project or subject name the coloured line moves with you to your chosen ID/Lab destination!

On the “project” line, once you have selected your destination, the sub-stations show-up:

Have a look, enjoy the ride and have a safe trip!

ID/Lab is looking for Wayfinding/Wayshowing Strategists.

You could come from a background of architecture, urban planning or graphic/interior/industrial design –or not, as long as you have good writing skills (quite a bit of our work is writing recommendation reports), are able to read architectural plans, have a “3-D mind”, are a problem solver and confident in dealing with clients.

The position is fulltime, from our Docklands location (easy access to public transport and bike paths!)

If this sounds interesting, please contact us here. If you know someone who fits the above criteria, could you please point them to this page??

Last month ANZ (the fourth largest bank in Australia, with operations throughout Australia and New Zealand, and twenty-five other countries) opened officially its new global HQ in Docklands, Melbourne. ID/Lab, in collaboration with Fabio Ongerato and Hassell Architects, developed a wayshowing strategy for this building. When all staff have moved in, it will house 6500 people, and with that becomes the largest office building in Australia.

As read on: www.sustainablerotterdam.com

How does the city contribute to make citizens’ life meaningful? How does it serve as a tool to develop their activities? Shoot-&-run doesn’t work here. Branding requires long term commitment to the story and values of a product or service.

It is what you have to offer that counts, and a bit of communication:

1. Identify core values of your city. What does it stand for? It is about accepting reality and extracting those values that unify every single citizen.
2. Define your personality. Every city has its own characteristics that make it unique; some are classic, contemporary, or eclectic. Can you clearly define yours? Act consistently.
3. Develop a consistent imagery. If branding is about telling a story that adds value to the product, it helps when there are recognisable visual elements attached to it. Design a logo, font type, colours, and style. Stick to it and apply to any media support. Additionally, exploit local imagery.
4. Preach by giving example. Translate values into actions when practicing city management and policy making. (I.e. don’t spend money publicising the economic penalisation of littering and at the same time allow it in public events)
5. Be open to ideas and contributions. Let the community build into city values. Provide communication channels; make it easy to speak out and always provide coherent feedback.

Note: Landmarks definitely contribute to building a city brand, as long as it adds to the story and it is appropriate for the context.

If for your city, you’re able to tick each element of the list with the mark done & in place, then we are talking about a world-class branded city. Citizens become fans when high level of engagement with the story is achieved.

ID/Lab is working with Parks Victoria (as part of the Taylor Cullity Lethlean team) on the development of a wayshowing system for the Point Nepean National Park site.

Point Nepean National Park is a popular tourist destination. Besides spectacular ocean scenery, the park is home to Fort Nepean, established in 1882, and the historic Quarantine Station first established in 1852, which was closed to the public for almost 150 years. It is located about 100km South of Melbourne.

Point Nepean NP presents a fabulous opportunity for ‘story-telling’. The wayshowing system should not only be a functional navigation tool, but enhance the visitors’ planning & experience by divulging the myriad of stories the site has to offer – historical, ecological, recreational. Online, hand-held and real-world experiences will all be considered and integrated to provide for a wayshowing system that invites the user to explore the park physically and educationally.