Figuring out
Is it memorable?
Every designer loves to design something amazing. Something that stands out and gets noticed. Something that people will talk about when they’re asked “how was your day?” Creating moments in peoples lives that help elevate a place.
Or is it invisible?
But what we do as placemakers and wayfinders is determine if standing out is really the best option. Sometimes what we want to do is not get noticed at all. To be simply ‘there’ and guiding someone without them even noticing. We’ve used the phrase “what we do only gets noticed when it is done poorly” many times, and in some cases it’s the absolute truth.
01.
Place
Understanding the intricacies of the place is one of the key jobs we have. Knowing the context, understanding what fits in, what stands out, what opportunities this place affords.
02.
People
Knowing who is coming to the place and how they are using it: What state they’re in; What’s the frequency?; What time of day?; And why are they here? This allows us to better tailor a solution for the people who are using it, and get away from preferences and towards functional solutions.
03.
Allowances
Code governs where we start. What are we allowed to do? Do we want to challenge that? Can we find creative ways to make the best of it? We start with knowing what we’re allowed to help guide us towards was realistic.
04.
Objectives
Understanding what the client and the space want to achieve. This allows us entrance to start designing the space and the interactions. To help determine if what we’re putting in a space needs to direct, inform, enlighten, or surprise.
Who WE are...
We're a small team focused on making sure places are navigable and understandable. We understand when things in the environment need to be highlighted, and when things can fade into the background and are all focused on making enjoyable, appropriate spaces made for people.
Dana has a background in fabrication, which immediately explains why she’s so good and understanding and explaining just about anything. That background also allows her to understand how things are built and ensure they’re built properly. But that’s certainly not all she does, just one of her work superpowers: she is also an incredible, thorough, thoughtful designer who is focused on ideal outcomes for the people we work with and the people we’re designing for. She is an absolute star, knowledgeable beyond compare, and so good at sharing that knowledge with anyone who cares to ask.
Evan is someone you would describe as detail-detail-oriented: he is relentlessly looking at how things work and making them both work and look better. He’s someone you could ask to design almost anything and he’d be enthusiastic and engaged, and you’d be glad you did. He is definitely a designer through-and-through and it shows in everything he produces.
Collin has been all sorts of designers in his career: branding, web/digital, agency, small teams, big teams, and now wayfinding. He loves trying to make the world a more humane place and knows design can help achieve that (but also knows that’s a team sport that required everyone onboard). Always thinking about how people experience places, his goal is to make more equitable, better designed, more delightful, more accessible spaces.
