Synopses & Reviews
The Essential Resource for Creating Effective Signage and Wayfinding ProjectsSignage and Wayfinding Design is an essential reference for design professionals who must communicate meaningful information in the built environment. Written to be both comprehensive and accessible, this vital resource shows how to apply a holistic, proven design method to large and small signage projects in an efficient and systematic manner.
In this practical guide, author Chris Calori outlines her proven "Signage Pyramid" method. This approach divides signage into three interrelated focus areas and components—the Information Content System, the Graphic System, and the Hardware System—making it easier to solve the often complex design problems posed in a comprehensive signage program.
Signage and Wayfinding Design gives professionals an in-depth view of the environmental graphic design (EGD) process from research and design development through project execution, and:
- Offers a wealth of illustrative examples from real-world projects
- Covers approaches to project documentation, including sign typing and message schedule management
- Explains nomenclature and numbering systems
- Illustrates how signage creates and reinforces brand identity
- Provides an overview of sign materials, coating, and finishes
- Highlights code and Americans with Disabilities Act considerations
- Includes more than 250 images and 32 pages of color images
By taking a cross-disciplinary approach, the author makes the information relevant for graphic designers, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, and industrial designers. Clients who engage EGD professionals will also gain valuable insights.
Review
"We've been working on a large signage project since late last year. It’s been rough as in many ways our campus is very tough to navigate. One book that’s helped us out is
Signage and Wayfinding Design by Chris Calori. The book talks a lot about the science/art of sign making. If you’re working on a signage project for your organization I highly recommend this book. I wish I would have found it earlier in our project." (Jon Edmiston –
As far As I Can Tell Blog, March 25, 2009)
"Environmental graphic designers-referred to as EGDs in this volume-make sure we can get where we're going, without a bunch of extra information. Signage and Wayfinding Design looks at this emerging field and highlights some of its best work." (StepInsideDesign, 2007)
"This is the ultimate Sign Design Cookbook. Absolutely every issue is covered.... This Comprehensive volume outlines the entire process of design, as well as providing a portfolio of finished projects." (segdDESIGN, No. 16)
Synopsis
Signage and Wayfinding Design is a comprehensive and accessible resource that enables readers to apply a standard, proven design process to large and small projects in an efficient and systematic manner. Environmental graphic design is the development of a systematic, visually cohesive graphic communication system for a given site within the built environment. Increasingly recognized as a contributor to well-being, safety and security in unfamiliar and high-stress environments, EGD is also being used to extend and reinforce the brand experience.
About the Author
Chris Calori is a principal of Calori & Vanden-Eynden /Design Consultants, an internationally recognized, award-wining design firm specializing in the planning and design of signage and wayfinding programs. She is a Fellow of the Society for Environmental Graphic Design and is a Professional Affiliate of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. She has also been a design educator at the Fashion Institute of Technology and at The Ohio State University.
Table of Contents
Foreword.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 What Is Environmental Graphic Design?
The Spectrum of EGD Activity.
The Importance of EGD Today.
You Can’t Learn This in College.
What’s Ahead in This Book.
2 The Design Process.
The Client Is Part of the Process.
The Design Process Applied to EGD.
Phase 1: Data Collection and Analysis (Predesign).
Phase 2: Schematic Design.
Phase 3: Design Development.
Phase 4: Documentation.
Phase 5: Bidding (Postdesign).
Phase 6: Fabrication/Installation Observation.
Phase 7: Postinstallation Evaluation.
Chapter Wrap-Up.
3 Overview of the Signage Pyramid Model.
Genesis of a Design Approach.
The Signage Pyramid's Component Systems.
The Signage Pyramid and Resource Allocation.
Chapter Wrap-Up.
4 The Information Content System.
Kinds of Sign Information Content.
Hierarchy of Content.
Developing the Sign Information Content System.
Navigation: Message Hierarchy and Proximity.
Other Factors Affecting the Sign Information Content System.
Pictorial Information Content.
Signage Master Plans.
Chapter Wrap-Up.
5 The Graphic System.
Typography Overview.
Choosing a Typeface.
Typographic Treatment.
Typographic Considerations in Signage for Nonsighted and Low-Sighted People.
Symbols and Arrows.
Diagrams.
Other Graphic Elements.
Color.
Layout.
Overview of Signage Graphic Application Process.
Chapter Wrap-Up.
6 The Hardware System.
Shape.
Connotations of Form.
Sign Mounting Considerations.
Sign Size Considerations.
Sign Lighting Overview.
Sign Materials Overview.
Basic Sign Materials.
Electronic Message Display Devices.
Stock Sign Hardware Systems.
Sign Materials and Codes.
Overview of Coatings and Finishes Applied to Signs.
Chapter Wrap-Up.
Project Credits.
Bibliography.
Index.