Identity Feature Articles

Nike Test Stride Course by Leviathan
Leviathan Demos High Performance with Nike Test Stride
04/03/2017

Nike was seeking a team to design and deliver an event bringing influencers and athletes together to test their latest batch of performance winter gear—and deliver Leviathan did—with an interactive motion-triggered urban test course.

Eric Heiman of Volume Inc. to Speak at BE Event
Eric Heiman of Volume Inc. Talks Site-Specific Branding
02/28/2017

We caught up with Eric Heiman, creative director and partner at Volume Inc. (San Francisco) and asked a few choice questions about design and site-specific branding—the focus of his upcoming session on March 28 at SEGD Branded Environments in Las Vegas.

Grace Farms Wayfinding by Pentagram
Wayfinding and Building Community at Grace Farms
02/06/2017

Despite the moniker, Grace Farms is not an agricultural enterprise. The unique 80-acre campus in New Canaan, Conn., boasts a multiple award-winning and winding 83,000-square-foot building, while exemplary wayfinding by Pentagram (New York) helps guide all visitors in their exploration of nature, community and faith.

W Landmark at the University of Washington
An Unexpected ‘W’ at The University of Washington
02/01/2017

How an unbuilt project, a chance conversation and a thumbnail sketch led to an iconic landmark and an unexpected social media flurry for Michael Courtney Design and the University of Washington.

Poulin + Morris Revitalize Cornell Communications
Poulin + Morris Revitalize Cornell Communications
12/19/2016

In dire need of a space befitting their Ivy League reputation for excellence, the Department of Communication at Cornell University enlisted JMZ Architects and Planners and renowned design firm Poulin + Morris Inc. to spearhead the revitalization effort.

Westfield by BrandCulture
BrandCulture Weaves Story of Westfield
12/09/2016

A master upholsterer, disappearing maps and a continuous thin red line are just a few of the tactics employed by BrandCulture to bring Westfield’s incredible history to life.

Wayfinding at Deloitte Montreal
Agile Wayfinding for Deloitte Montreal
05/03/2016

The new La Tour Deloitte is the first privately owned office tower built in Montréal in 20 years. Deloitte’s Montreal staff occupies 153,000 sq. ft. of the 26-story tower, spanning seven floors in a completely agile work environment that required a new approach to wayfinding.

Writers Theatre, Glencoe., Ill.
Writers Theatre Rewrites the Theater Experience
04/20/2016

Since it started in the back room of a bookstore in 1992, the hallmark of Chicago’s Writers Theatre has always been intimacy. That feeling is retained in WT's new permanent home in Glencoe, Illinois. The 36,000-sq.-ft. facility, designed by Studio Gang Architects, offers an open, welcoming space that galvanizes the potential of theater to unite people through shared experience. Signage and graphics by Thirst support the architecture and celebrate Writers’ unique history and spirit.

SEGD Wayfinding Event, April 14-15, 2016 with Joe Lawton and Ellen Bean Spurlock, Media Objectives at Valerio Dewalt Train
Wayfinding at Work – Place, Brand and Context [The SEGD Wayfinding Event]
03/02/2016

Whether it’s for high-tech start-ups or more traditional corporate environments, workplace wayfinding has a unique triple mission: not only to guide visitors and employees through complex spaces, but also to create a strong sense of place and support the brand. Joe Lawton and Ellen Bean Spurlock of Media Objectives at Valerio Dewalt Train Associates, along with Brittney Butler of VMDO, will lead the Workplace Wayfinding session at The SEGD Wayfinding Event April 14-15 in Miami. You'll want to be there!

Bloomberg West Coast Tech Hub (Image: IwomotoScott Architecture)
With its New Tech Hub, Bloomberg Shows Start-ups How It’s Done
11/11/2015

Bloomberg may be the new kid in town when it comes to San Francisco’s hot tech scene, but the global business and financial information and news provider is no start-up. That’s abundantly clear when you see its sophisticated new R&D offices in the South of Market (SoMA) neighborhood: no foosball tables, beer taps or Velcro walls here, thank you very much.

Michael Bierut Master Series at SVA New York
Michael Bierut, Master Series Exhibit at SVA Gallery
11/04/2015

HOW TO fit 35 years worth of award-winning, laugh-making, product-selling, world-changing graphic design into 4,000 square feet? That was the latest design challenge for Pentagram partner Michael Bierut, whose work is the focus of a retrospective at the School of Visual Arts (New York) through November 7.

Katie Sprague at SEGD Branded Environments 2015
To Be or Not to Be? The Rise and Fall of Branded Environments
08/19/2015

The word "brand" was originated to describe the mark on a cow's butt. Today it covers much, much more than that. Branding is an art form, a short hand for customer preferences, and even a cause for world domination. Katie Sprague, Senior VP at Callison RTKL, covers the long and short of it at Be | The Branded Environments Event Thursday in Los Angeles.

LAX airport sign
What Makes a City a Brand? Find out in LA!
08/12/2015

What makes a city a brand? How does a constellation of culture, sports, entertainment, and natural attractions link and shine as an experience? Los Angeles is the poster child for city branding, and you’ll find out why at Be |The Branded Environments Event August 20 in The City of Angels.

Comcast Studio Xfinity store
Comcast Brands to Xfinity (and Beyond)
08/11/2015

Flexible media and a new customer engagement model make Comcast’s prototype service center an entirely new brand experience. When media giant Comcast decided to retool its XFINITY customer service centers, the idea was to move away from the purely transactional model of the past and create an entirely new way to engage with customers.

Cornell University Stocking Hall
For the Fun of It: 8 Ways to Add Play to Branded Environments
08/05/2015

When Calori & Vanden-Eynden was asked to create graphics for Cornell University’s newest campus facility—a dairy plant added to an existing academic research lab—they decided to have some fun with it. The CVE team covered blank walls with cow spots, creating what one observer calls a “Rorschach meets rawhide” aesthetic that manages to be both witty and sophisticated. CVE identified the building itself with a giant sculptural milk bottle.

Brian Mirakian, Populous
Enhancing Branded Environments through User-Centered Design
07/30/2015

Not every project is as big as Texas, and not every client is as ambitious as Texas A&M University, which recently opened its “brand”-new, state-of-the-art Bright Football Complex. But any project can benefit from the Aggie game plan—and Brian Mirakian of Populous will tell you how at the SEGD Branded Environments Workshop Aug. 20 in LA!

Texas A&M Bright Football Complex
Building the Brand, Texas Style
07/29/2015

Deep in the heart of Texas, where football and tradition are sacred, Texas A&M University continues to build its dynasty—and its brand. With a new $17 million, state-of-the art training facility designed by Populous, the Aggies keep showing how it’s done—building both a powerhouse football team and a sophisticated branded experience.

Brookfield Place
New York Rising at Brookfield Place
05/27/2015

In late 2014, another major milestone in the post 9/11 revitalization was completed: the reinvention of the mighty World Financial Center—the Cesar Pelli-designed complex built in the 1980s across from the World Trade Center—as an 8 million-square-foot office, retail, arts, and dining destination.

Unlost and Found - Wayfinding as Brand
Unlost and Found - Wayfinding as Brand
03/18/2015

Creating Value for Smart Cities

Savannah, Georgia, knows that wayfinding is more than just helping people not get lost. It’s also about reinforcing a sense of place and connecting visitors with the city’s unique collection of assets. But how does wayfinding work when there is no existing “sense of place,” such as in rural North Carolina? MERJE principal John Bosiosays wayfinding can drive identity, shape place, and build brand value. He’ll share his perspective April 23 at the SEGD Wayfinding Workshopin San Francisco. Find him there!

3 images of National Parks Service Graphics elements
National Park Service Identity and Signage
09/14/2009

From the SEGD archives, circa 2009: this project was a very important contribution to the National Park Service, which celebrated its centennial less than a month ago on August 25, 2016. With the help of a graphic identity that reflects the National Park Service mission, “America’s best idea” keeps getting better.

Subscribe to

Upcoming SEGD Events

2023 SEGD Academic Summit
2023 Wayfinding and Placemaking
2023 Experience Washington D.C.