SOUTHERN UTE CULTURAL CENTER AND MUSEUM

This spring, the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum will open in Ignacio, Colorado. We designed the environmental graphics and wayfinding signage program for the new building—a 51,000-square-foot structure honoring the history, culture, and language of the Southern Ute people.

The cultural center and museum, designed by Jones & Jones Architects, sits on the tribe’s Southwestern Colorado reservation. The building design recalls the Southern Utes’ culture and history: a welcome gallery is housed in a conical structure that’s evocative of traditional tribal homes, flanked by two wings whose sloped rooftops reflect the sacred symbol of the eagle. We extended these architectural cues to our design for the environmental graphics and the interior and exterior wayfinding signs.

Large concrete markers throughout the campus feature etched typographic directional information, guiding visitors around the space and creating a connection with the environment. Post-and-panel signs evoke the portable structures built by the nomadic Southern Utes.

To create a sense of “place,” the Ute language is incorporated into the signage, serving as a constant reminder that the center is a space to celebrate the Southern Ute culture. The directional and identification signs, along with the concrete markers, feature both English and Ute. Conversational phrases or questions—such as “Do you speak Ute?”—appear throughout the building as a way to create connections between people and the environment.

Tribal history and culture, such as traditional clothing styles, is referenced in custom-designed symbols that appear on the signage. To highlight beadwork—a significant part of Southern Ute culture—and encourage the tribe to interact with and personalize the environment, room ID signs feature removable tray inserts where students and other tribe members can display beadwork they’ve created. 

SC’s goal was to create an integrated and meaningful signage and graphics program that would enhance the building’s function as both a learning center for visitors and a cultural touchpoint for tribe members, says Design Director Billy Chen.

“The graphics and signage program nicely complements the complex architecture of the building,” says Chen. “The result is a really immersive experience that, with the help of our environmental graphics program, celebrates the culture and history of the Southern Ute tribe.”