Project Overview

Wayfinding, place-making, and map design for the University of Texas School of Information (UTSI). Our team's full proposal included comprehensive maps for each floor the Information school occupied, a map designed specifically to guide visitors stuck in the area between the rear doors and the parking garage to the correct entrance, directories for office and academic personnel, and a color-based wayfinding system.

Role

Research, concept development, graphic design, 3D renderings

Context

The UTSI is housed in a newer, mixed-use office building that is somewhat removed from the main University of Texas campus in downtown Austin. We were brought on to develop a solution for the school that could expand on its existing identity while communicating its link to the larger UT network.

User Research and Insights

After speaking with students and faculty at the School of Information about their experience in the building, we realized there was a real lack of a sense of place within the premises. The areas that the UTSI occupied were almost indistinguishable from the rest of the building, and there was little signage or branding that communicated its presence in the building, apart from a small black-and-white photocopied map near the elevators. The security guard in the lobby was also uncertain about exact location of UTSI in the building, leaving many first-time visitors confused and disoriented. UTSI students and faculty informed us that they receive near-daily requests from visitors for directions to offices and classrooms, and reported that they seldom felt like they were part of a highly-regarded academic program, as much a generic office space.

Solution

From these interviews and conversations, we developed a series of clear and colorful maps and directories that could be displayed in the lobby and the floors occupied by the UTSI. To go along with the maps, we developed a color-based wayfinding system we developed that assigned distinguishing colors to faculty offices, administration, PhD offices, labs, classrooms, and common areas so visitors could make their way around the space by way of the colored signage without having to rely on others for directions.

Directory for the entire building and color-coded map of the first floor:

Map of the fifth floor, and faculty and staff directory:

Screenshots of a simulated walkthrough of signage and wayfinding identity system as seen within a Google Sketchup model of the Information School:

Color-coded blades and implementation guide to strategic placement of signage: