Designed by Data
NI — formerly National Instruments — is a leading provider of software-connected automated test and measurement systems. Their brand position as “The Expert Connector” leverages deep engineering experience to connect people and technology in pursuit of engineering the extraordinary. During a phased renovation of their 1MM SF headquarters in Austin, we developed a program of environmental graphics that reflect NI’s dedication to data-driven problem solving.
The Challenge
As a design firm, our staff largely holding degrees in fine arts we had to push beyond our own subject-matter expertise in order to empathically interpret our client’s specialized position within their industry. In some cases, this meant literally dismantling NI’s hardware components piece-by-piece in order to understand the tolerances of their products and the materiality of their craft. A focus on data visualization yielded a program rich in content and surprises.
Project Vision
We defined a vision for workplace art and graphics that subtly reflect and represent the intensely detailed and data-driven work of NI’s engineers venturing well beyond design-as-decoration, delivering discovery, delight, and content within a context of warm, human-centered interiors.
The note-by-note visualization of The White Stripes’ 7 Nation Army uses an intricate language of color, size, and pattern to represent the pitch and length of every instrument and vocal.
Matthew Batista
Visitors to the corporate library are reminded to speak in whispers using the dB measurements of other environmental sounds, each visualized by density and area.
Matthew Batista
Design + Execution
We employed surveys and remote and on-site creative workshops to better understand the needs of NI’s engineers. Inspired by their left and right-brained agility, we defined a collection of experiences that delivers something for both sides of the brain: a visualization of data or a creatively collaborative work in progress, sometimes both at once. NI’s visual brand vocabulary modular grids, interlocking shapes, UX symbols borrowed from their proprietary software all serve as foundations for the layering of information and content. Codes and puzzles deliver content and brand messaging in unexpectedly meaningful ways.
Elements of the program are rendered in a palette of warm, natural materials such as felt, string, and wood, a reflection of NI’s respect for human expression and the environment we share. In addition to the new global signage standards we developed concurrently, the graphics package was designed and documented to allow for efficient adaptation within other NI offices around the world.
This framed piece displays the NI tagline, Engineer Ambitiously, in a series of mathematical arcs rendered in layered fiber. An adjacent plaque explains the visual, delivering an a-ha moment.
Matthew Batista
Art in the executive area translates NI’s corporate mantra into a dimensional binary code fabricated from acoustical felt.
Matthew Batista
This installation is a coded abstraction of the NI mission — offering a moment of discovery during client tours. Bonus: its materiality absorbs sound around adjacent offices and meeting spaces.
Matthew Batista
An additive display invites on-site and remote staff to recreate themselves in LEGO Mini-Figures, literally giving everyone a place to Be Connectors — one of NI’s key pillars.
Matthew Batista
An additive display invites on-site and remote staff to recreate themselves in LEGO Mini-Figures, literally giving everyone a place to Be Connectors — one of NI’s key pillars.
Matthew Batista
Project Details
Great use of reimagining the mundane. Creating intentional moments that give people a moment to stop and consider their world around them. Overall system feels varied but also cohesive.
This project stands out precisely because of its restraint. The design team skillfully sidesteps the temptation to overwhelm the branded environment with excessive information. Instead, they employ coded abstractions and data representations, offering a nuanced and captivating glimpse into how the environment breathes life into the brand.
Design Team
Susanne Harrington (principal in charge)
Pam Caperton (senior designer, graphics)
Callie Gabbert (designer, graphics)
Matt Batista (senior designer, concept)
Chuck Sanders (senior designer, signage)
Oliver Harrington (data translator),
Gensler (architecture)
Gensler (planning)
Asterisk (planning)
Serigraphics (physical fabrication)
Innovative Environments (physical fabrication)
Collaborators
NI’s Facilities (r&d and workplace taskforce teams)
Photo Credits
Matthew Batista (photography, videography)
Callie Gabbert (videography)
Open Date
June 2023