Job No:01077 Title:The fundamentals og Graphic Design
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Design and the human form
The principal difference in environmental design is
that the relationship of a piece heavily relates to the
human form. Environmental design tends to use a
larger format and has to interact practically with
physical structures. For instance, signage should be
at eye level so that it is easily viewed.
The modernist architect Le Corbusier focused on
the interaction between design and the human form
in his piece Le Modulor
,
which he wrote between
1943 and 1955. It proposed a system of coordinated
dimensions with which to design architecture based
on the body dimensions of a six-foot English male.
Environmental design can subtly convey
information or a mood, as seen in the examples
on the opposite page, or in a more clear-cut way,
such as directional signage.
The boundaries between these soft and hard
approaches to communication in public spaces are
breaking down as people grow accustomed to seeing
ambient and direct messaging in public spaces. In
essence, as people become more adept at picking out
messages in the built environment, designers have
greater flexibility to produce more subtle work.
Spaces not pages
Environmental design deals with spaces rather than
pages. This means that a designer needs to consider
how people interact with a space and its physical
elements. Designing for a space is not dissimilar to
designing for the printed page – in both cases the
design tells a story, creates an impression, or a
branded experience. However, spaces have obvious
differences to pages due to the transition into the
third dimension and the change of scale. For example,
moving from the micro considerations of a typeset
page to the macro considerations of interior or
exterior spaces requires greater ability to imagine
and conceptualise the final result.
Environmental design
Design in the environment includes informational
and directional signage, exhibition space and outdoor
media or advertising. It encompasses all design that
exists within the built environment surrounding us.
Although much of the design skill set is the same as for
print and digital design, environmental design has some
special considerations due to the different space and
dimension the work has to function within.
126 The Fundamentals of Graphic Design Delivering the message
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Job No:01077 Title:The fundamentals og Graphic Design
2ND
Proof Page:127
Seven (above and right)
These interior wall murals were created by Studio Output
for the individually designed rooms of the boutique hotel,
Seven, in Bangkok, Thail and. The mur als we re inspired by
Thai culture and number cycles. The interior design was
developed around these concepts, providing a sense of
balance and harmony. The murals, created with a mixture of
raster and vector graphics, are integral to the environmental
experience of each room rather than being mere wall decoration
– they are mental shifts that represent a more profound,
unique and memorable graphic intervention.
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Scale
Reading exhibition text involves moving one’s head as well as one’s eyes, and the need to be within visual range. Exhibitions
benefit from concise, well-edited text bursts, rather than extended text blocks, with scale and quantity balanced. Small type sizes
mean people need to be close to read them, and the possible need to wait. Large-format text can be read from anywhere in a room
allows visitors to experience the event without necessarily peering at each exhibit description.
Lily Nage
This brand identity was created by Research Studios for
sportswear store Lily Nage and features a signage system with
vibrant and attractive colours that work on many levels: there
is directional signage (bottom right) and ambient signage
(top right), where a quiet zone is created and occupied by the
payment area. Iconic signage (bottom left) sees the image of
a product reproduced on the wall with colours that are
consistent with the overall store feel. Indicative images (top
left) help shoppers find products for their sport of choice by
focusing attention on the activity rather than the product.
The use of scale makes the messages clear and accessible
from a distance.
128 The Fundamentals of Graphic Design Delivering the message
Signage and wayfinding
Design interventions in the physical environment
include signage and wayfinding. Wayfinding is a
visual key that allows people to navigate through a
space by providing information to help them find their
way around and work out how they can get to where
they want to go. Signage incorporates all the visual
information related to location and is the
manifestation of wayfinding. It needs to be clear and
easy to understand to be effective and therefore
requires suitable aesthetics.
Signage and way finding interact in items such
as maps. A shopping mall typically has maps on each
floor that show the locations of different stores and
food courts. Items such as the information desk,
toilets, escalators, entrances and exits are often
represented by symbols, which are also present on
mall signage to help guide shoppers. The signage is
a product of the way finding process.
Types of signs
There are many different signs and they fall
into two basic categories: those we need to see
(fire exits, evacuation routes and no-smoking signs),
and those we want to see (toilets, escalators and
where different stores are located). Signage uses
colour and s
cale to differentiate between these two
categories: the things we need to see tend to have a
larger scale, be unequivocally coloured and placed in
more prominent locations. Signage that guides us to
other destinations may have a subtler scale
and colouration.
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Job No:01077 Title:The fundamentals og Graphic Design
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130 The Fundamentals of Graphic Design Delivering the message
Selfridges & Co (below)
Cartlidge Levene created the signage and wayfinding system for Selfridges & Co’s flagship
department store in Oxford Street, London. The main signage products are hanging directional
signs and acrylic totems that stand 3.5 metres tall; the wayfinding hubs are positioned near the
escalators to provide information so that customers can quickly orientate themselves.
The combination of signage with location-specific information makes items accessible for
both those people who are in a hurry and those with time to stop and study.
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