WINNER
Coventry Moves
by Uncommon Creative Studio, for Coventry City of Culture Trust
The branding, wayfinding and environmental graphics for Coventry’s UK City of Culture celebrations are a love letter to the city’s brutalist architecture. The design system, affectionately titled Coventry Moves, will be introduced throughout the city over the next 12 months to support festivities.
The post-war rebuilding of the city is emulated through a series of bold shapes – each icon represents a prevalent industry that has helped make the city what it is, from car manufacture to weaving. Coventry’s weaving history is also the source of the project’s colour palette: ‘Coventry Blue’ is a colour distilled from historical yarns and has been updated and repurposed as ‘Moving Blue’ throughout the system. A “brutalist blue tribute” to the city, according to the team, it’ll be seen across banners, 48-sheet posters and more.
The judges said: “I love the bold execution and the sense of movement, even in its static use. The cultural connection of both people and architecture really stands out. A brilliant response to the brief.”
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Morse Code Hoarding
by Kyle Wilkinson Studio, for Santander
Unity Place is a new tech hub and home for Santander, located in Milton Keynes. Still under construction, the area needed a selection of hoardings to keep the work away from the public. The bank asked Kyle Wilkinson Studio to deliver a solution that “sparked conversation” with an element of intrigue, and was relevant to the area.
Milton Keynes, and in particular Bletchley Park, played a pivotal role in the country’s World War Two fight. It was home to the UK’s team of code-breakers, led by Alan Turing. This was the inspiration for the team’s hoardings: the design includes hidden words within contemporary Morse code patterns, which run along prominent areas of the perimeter of the site. The design allows the public to give code-cracking a go, the studio says, adding that a total of 400 metres of code was created in total for the project.
Plumstead Library
by SEA, for Plumstead Library
Over the past few years, the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Grade II listed Plumstead Library has undergone a transformation – the turn-of-the-century building now boasts amenities such as a gym and café as well as the library. To match, SEA was tasked with creating the building’s new wayfinding. The brief, the studio says, was to create something coherent which would “underline architectural ambitions” for the building.
The project celebrates reading by showcasing type. Gill Sans, a classic humanist font associated with Penguin books, is used externally and internally, chosen for its simple legibility. A feature gate is inspired by typesetting, using type and gridlines – SEA worked closely with metal fabricators to create the element. The aim was to find something that would give the building more presence at street level, while also being contextual, lightweight and sustainably made.
Long Beach Police and Fire Department Memorial
by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, for City of Long Beach
When Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s new masterplan of Long Beach Civic Center required the removal of a memorial to the city’s fallen police offices and firefighters, it was a quick decision to rebuild the tribute elsewhere. As well as creating a more integrated memorial, in keeping with the updated Civic Center area, the project was also an opportunity to have the memorial stand for the city’s diverse service people.
The existing memorial depicted a male police officer and a male firefighter, the studio explains. After several conversations with the City of Long Beach authority, as well as stakeholders in both public services, the qualities of a meaningful memorial were defined and worked towards – these included things such as providing a space to grieve, a place to educate and personalisation. The final result is a memorial that “steps back” from the traditional, according to the studio. At the centre is a folded American flag, and a triangular frame where each triangle acts as a plaque for a fallen officer.
San Francisco International Airport Wayfinding Programme
by City ID, for SFO
San Francisco International Airport (SFO) commissioned City ID to develop new wayfinding as part of its goal to revolutionise the guest experience. The team was tasked with bringing a “fresh perspective” to the space, and helping better establish the connection between people and place. Prior to the work, several different wayfinding strategies were employed throughout the building – City ID worked to create something consistent, introducing a single information language”.
The final design was inspired by “Bay Area” culture, the studio says, as well as the SFO campus itself. Visual references included aviation history, materiality, and the architectural form of the space. A new typeface, SFO Wayfinding, was developed in partnership with Dalton Maag, as well as a pictogram set, colour palette and illustrative style, and a new map style. Applications include dashboards, pylons, wall-mounted plaques and monuments.
WAYFINDING & ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS
shortlisted
Wayfinding & Environmental Graphics