Signage in urban environments definitely takes a beating—its affected by everything from weather damage to pedestrian interaction—and upkeep can be costly. That’s why we were intrigued when we learned about Système Huntingdon, Inc’s Alto product line.  

This system of sub-surface graphics offers an interesting solution to the exterior signage problem. Système Huntingdon’s unique digital transfer method embeds graphics into architectural materials through a heat-and-vacuum process—essentially making the graphics part of the material. This can be done on flat, textured, or three-dimensional surfaces, embedding graphics into materials such as aluminum, steel, glass, or ceramics. 

A product like this would be great for urban environmental graphics and other signage installations in areas with high pedestrian traffic because the signs will be graffiti-resistant and offer both weather- and UV-protection. The process is also environmentally friendly—it doesn’t emit VOCs, and it uses water-based inks and recyclable base materials.

We’re considering this for our Pacific Avenue wayfinding project because the city of Tacoma is concerned about long-term maintenance. Have you had any experience with these or similar products? We’d be interested to hear about it in the comments section!

Image: An example of Système Huntingdon’s products used in urban environmental graphics.

We’re currently working with AHBL, a design and engineering firm, to create a wayfinding program for the City of Tacoma’s Pacific Avenue. This streetscape improvement plan will create a pedestrian-friendly environment for people to engage with the city and its unique history.

The new signage we’re designing is modern, clean, and structural, referencing the industrial character of the city. Image panels embedded in the faces of the L-shaped posts will feature historical photographs that are relevant to each sign’s location. This integrated artwork will create visual interest for pedestrians, encouraging them to linger and learn a bit about the city’s rich history.

As part of the design phase, we’ve also been working with an advisory committee of Tacoma business leaders, determining locations for signs along Pacific Avenue and a hierarchy of destination messages for the wayfinding program. The current program focuses on the downtown district, but can easily be expanded to other areas of the city.

In addition to the new signage, Pacific Avenue will also see increased green space, bike facilities, lighting, and public art.  Once complete, the updated streetscape will give pedestrians and businesses a welcoming place to connect with the history of their city and participate in building its future.

Image: rendering of future Pacific Avenue signage.

What are YOU doing tonight? If you’re in downtown Seattle, stop by ZGF Architects for a visually stunning presentation from Voices of the Earth. Led by photographer Robin Acker Bush, this company uses nature photographs—mostly underwater settings and stone formations—in environmental graphic design. According to Bush, these images, which show small organisms in large scale, seek to “connect us spatially and experientially to the natural world.”

Hope to see you there!

EVENT DETAILS:

Thursday, February 2, 2012
5:30-7:30
ZGF Architects
925 Fourth Ave., Suite 2400
Seattle, WA 98104

FREE for everyone (whether you’re an SEGD member or not!)
Light snacks provided

Image via Voices of the Earth

Happy Halloween weekend! Designing haunted houses, creating your own monsters (yep, there’s an app for that), and the perfect motorcycle to complete your Tron costume.

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You only have a few more days before Halloween to create your own Daily Monster (or just marvel as Stefan G. Bucher creates his).

The Museum of Obsolete Objects ensures you won’t forget about things like cassette tapes and the abacus.

This architect’s specialty is spooky environmental design.

Tron-esque Light-Cycles. We’ll take a fleet for the Studio, please.

These aren’t your average pumpkin carvings—they’re veritable sculptures.

Now that’s some Halloween spirit. We would definitely trick-or-treat here.

Image via Multy Shades.

The University of Washington’s new Alumni Commons building will be dedicated on Friday, as the UW celebrates its 150^th year.

The environmental graphics program we designed for the building showcases “Husky Pride,” tracing the university’s legacy with an eye on its future. The Commons celebrates everyone and everything that makes the University great—students, professors, alumni, parents, and fans, as well as inventions, discoveries, milestones, and the Seattle community.

Check back soon for more photos and details about this exciting new environmental graphics program!

Studio SC’s work at the Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum was featured in the Seattle DJC today.

The southwest Colorado facility was created to help preserve and share the culture, language, and history of the Southern Ute tribe, and we infused these aspects into our environmental graphics and wayfinding program.  Jones & Jones Architects designed the building, which opened in May. 

A welcome gallery anchors two wings that curve around a courtyard. The gallery’s conic form is drawn from cultural sources such as the teepee, wickiup, taut skin of a drum and a woman’s shawl. Translucent cladding around the gallery allows it to glow inward during the day and outward at night.

You can read the rest of the DJC article here. And check out this recent post for more about our signage and graphics program.

At left: The graphic pattern we designed for the University of Washington’s Molecular Engineering Building; Right: The nanophotonic image from which the pattern was derived.

We’re designing a graphic concept for the University of Washington’s Molecular Engineering Building: a 5-color triangular pattern derived from nanophotonic imaging.

(Only have a nano-sized knowledge about molecular engineering? Don’t sweat it; our nanotechnology primer has you covered. Nanoguitars, Buckyballs, and more!)

In creating the graphic for the MEB, we designed multiple concepts, ranging from abstract to literal representations of molecular engineering, seeking the right balance between the two. The overall goal, says designer Faith Berry, was to find a graphic that would be relevant to all areas of nanotechnology developed at the MEB, from work on solar energy to clean fuel production.

The graphic is a pattern comprised of triangles that are deconstructed and reconstructed across the space to form an abstract, artistic representation of nanophotonic imaging. “The design is geometric and elegant,” Berry says. “It creates visual rhythm and alludes to molecular experimentation, without specifically referencing any one molecule or field of study.”

The challenge now is applying the pattern to a variety of spaces throughout the building, including directories, message boards, stair IDs, and lab windows. The same idea—a triangle pattern that’s deconstructed and reconstructed—will remain throughout, but the application will vary at each point, both in size and production method.

Each application will be slightly different, whether it’s sandblasted concrete, masked and painted, or window film, says Berry. “We want each pattern to vary in rhythm and style, but also feel connected by the same design language.”

We’re currently creating final layouts for the various areas, and will soon move into production. We’ll keep you updated as we go.

We’re currently delving into the complex world of nanoscience as we work to create an identity and wayfinding signage program for the University of Washington’s Molecular Engineering Building. Our graphics will help tell the story of the work that’s done at the MEB, which includes research into areas of nanotechnology such as solar energy, clean fuel production, and more. Don’t know much about nanoscience? Don’t worry, neither did we. But we’ve got you covered with this primer of nano-facts.

Now just how small are we talking about here?

A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. So for a visual, the comparative size of a nanometer to a meter is the same as a marble compared to the Earth. Yeah, that’s pretty tiny.

We’ve been literally ‘playing’ with science.

A helpful (and fun) tool we’ve discovered: magnetic buckyballs. These super strong magnets mimic the bonds of fullerenes, hollow carbon-based molecules with impressively strong bonds. They’re named after designer/architect/engineer Buckminster Fuller, who’s known for creating geodesic domes, like Epcot’s Spaceship Earth. (Soccer balls are also shaped like buckyballs, which is may be why we like them so much.) Working with them helps us visualize different molecular shapes, which we can translate into our graphics. Plus, they’re endlessly entertaining.

Maybe architecture and nanotechnology aren’t that different.

We’re learning to visualize molecules in the same way we visualize buildings. Think back to high school chemistry class:  remember drawing out the chemical formulas of molecules? Those drawings, which tell you the composition of a molecule, help you visualize what it looks like in reality. That correlation reminds us of the way we can figure out what a building will look like based on the technical drawings architects provide us. Much as architectural drawings provide the data to determine the shape, size, and composition of buildings, chemical notation offers the same specs about the components of a molecule.

Do you think these scientists get a lot of requests for “Freebird”?

Researchers at Cornell created a nanoguitar in 1997: it was about the size of a red blood cell and shaped like a Fender Stratcaster. In 2003, they created a “playable” version (in the likeness of a Gibson Flying V). Light from a laser causes the silicon strings to vibrate at frequencies 17 octaves—or, 13,000 times—higher than a regular guitar. Rock on!

The science of art…or is it the art of science?

We’re working with two ideas for the environmental graphics at the MEB. One embraces the technical aspects, using chemical notation and shapes of actual molecules. The other is more abstract, using a pattern derived from nanophotonic images to create visual rhythm and imply molecular structures. We’re trying to find the right balance of literal and abstract to create visual connections that relate to the entire field of molecular engineering. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ve got some Buckyballs to play with…

Today’s Daily Journal of Commerce ran an article about our work at Everett Community College:

Seattle-based Studio SC said it has completed a campus wayfinding program for Everett Community College in Everett.

The navigation system also reinforces the college’s identity through strategic placement of signage and use of materials that reflect the modern industrial character of the campus’s newer buildings.

“Everett Community College was our latest project where environmental graphics have become a critical part of business owners’ brand and image campaign,” said Mark Sanders, Studio SC principal.

Mark’s reflections above are supported by reactions from Pat Sisneros, vice president of college services at Everett Community College. Sisneros says he’s already seeing the benefits of the wayfinding program after only a few months. “The signage is beautiful, simple, and highly visible,” Sisneros says. “It enhances the look of the college and really brings the campus together.” He has received a lot of feedback from people who say the signage program has made navigating campus easier. “The clarity of the signs and maps helps everyone—students, faculty, alumni, visitors—easily understand where they are in relation to where they want to go,” he says.

The impacts that Sisneros has noticed—cleanly integrated signage and improved navigation around campus—are just some of the benefits of a well-designed environmental graphics program that help create a positive image for an organization.  Plus, these changes are an economical way to help any organization, from schools to corporations to hospitals, connect with users and stand out against their competition.

Check out more information about our work at EvCC here.