Wayfinding Concepting
By Erika Goering,
Filed under: KCAI, Learning, Spatial Experience
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We quickly delved into the process of marking site identifiers, but also generally getting a feel for the campus as a whole. We began to think about the unique aspects of the school and how to translate that in the signage. Words like energetic, insightful, innovative, non-traditional, creative, and unique were all found in KCAI’s identity guide. To us, all these words signified one thing:
KCAI is Eclectic.
From the architecture on campus to the students and departments who make up our school, KCAI like Kansas City, enjoys the juxtaposition of the modern and the historical, the simple and the ornate, the natural and the artificial. It’s really a beautiful collage of history, diversely transformed, if you ask us. So our concepts came from this inspiration.
- concept 1: Materials (History)
- Much of the architecture found at KCAI is a mixture of original styles and modern renovations. No building is the same, and each has a unique history.
- juxtaposing the natural wood against the modern industrial steel
- nodding to the hand by using “hand rendered” typography
- concept 2: People (Innovation)
- The students innovate and keep the school relevant
- dense architectural landscape, a lot of beautiful details means a nice juxtaposition of minimalist style signage application
- bright pops of color that symbolize the four schools within KCAI
- updated futura typeface
- concept 3: Representing each department as parts as a whole (unification)
- using materials and techniques specific to each department to produce a system for the entire school
- unifying the system as a whole
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| some quick site identification |
As we continued to study the KCAI, we also searched for “unconventional” signage to draw inspiration from. Way finding inspiration below:
