Our Wellington Place scheme has won gold at The Sign Awards for the best wayfinding scheme. Working closely with sign manufacturer, Astra Signs, we designed a strategy that solved the neighbourhood’s inherent navigational problems while reflecting the unique brand identity of Wellington Place.
What was it?
Leeds’s newest dynamic neighbourhood presented a huge wayfinding challenge to overcome: it is inward-facing so doesn’t naturally draw people in.
Its navigational challenges included:
- indistinguishable building facades with multiple entrances
- wide boulevards which also were not easy to identity, and
- no visual representation to the development to help people build a mental map of the site, which all added to the confusion.
What did we do?
From early on we knew a digital design would be the right approach: the quarter is being built out in phases so we needed a creative solution that could adapt as the place changed.
To give user confidence we set out a clear information and sign placement hierarchy, focusing on key orientation points to nudge users from arrival gateways through to the building entrance markers.
The award-winning design
The sign form takes inspiration from the angular aerial footprint of the development and expands the use of the brand pattern. Signs complement the public realm and architecture, with colour details matching building finishes. We recommended the consistent use of materials, colour and the distinctive angular form to create a recognisable visual identity.
“Placemarque took the time to understand the unique characteristics of Wellington Place and what we wanted to achieve with the wayfinding scheme. They were ambitious in their design and delivered on the brief, both conceptually and technically, whilst responding to the site constraints. Their attention to detail, when it came to finalising the design, sign locations, working with the sign manufacturers and overseeing the final site installations, was fantastic.”
Miles Jones, Senior Development Manager, MEPC Limited
