SEGD Phoenix
placemaking
Custom typeface and placemaking for a hypothetical SEGD conference in Phoenix, Arizona. (Created in Adobe Illustrator for You Are Here (Environmental Type: Wayfinding and Placemaking) class, October - December 2023)
Project Brief
For this assignment in a placemaking and wayfinding class, we were required to develop a custom typeface, use it to create a logo lockup, and create four pieces of placemaking media for an Society of Experimental Graphic Designs (SEGD) conference in a specific city and venue. I selected the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
What I created
First, I created a custom typeface. Then, I used it to make a logo lockup, Finally, I created four pieces of media for placemaking: an invitational mailer, an animated logo lockup, street banners, and a large logotype bench to be placed outdoors at the venue.
Custom Typeface
My Phoenix typeface was informed by the idea of urban sprawl, taking up as much room as possible, Phoenix's consistent and rectangular grid system, and the high-contrast shadows cast by the desert sun.
Logo Lockup
When creating the logotype, I played with a color scheme reminiscent of a heat map and continued to work with the idea of light and cast shadows in the desert sun. Among the colors used, there is no black: the lines are a dark purple.
Save the Date
This save the date card would be mailed to prospective attendees. All pertinent information is on the outside, but once unfolded, it showcases the logo and “SEGD 2023”, making for an artifact that people would be inclinedto stand up on their desk or tack to theirbulletin board.
animated logo
This animation would play on a loop both on the event website banner as well as being projected on a wall within the event center itself, welcoming attendees to the conference space. To create it, I expanded on the motion implied in the static letterforms.
Street Banners
These banners would be placed on the street throughout the outdoor portion of the venue space, helping to create a sense of place at the conference. Because they’ll only be seen once people are inside the event, serving to establish the space, they simply read “SEGD 2023” on each side.
These banners would be placed on the street throughout the outdoor portion of the venue space, helping to create a sense of place at the conference. Because they’ll only be seen once people are inside the event, serving to establish the space, they simply read “SEGD 2023” on each side.
Photograph by Google Maps street view
Phoenix Bench
These large letter-shaped benches would be made out of painted plywood, a material that’s durable yet doesn’t get too hot in the sun, and placed in the outdoor event space. In this location, it’s clearly visible from the interior of the building via the large windows over-looking the street. So, not only can the letters be enjoyed by attendees in the outdoor space, but they continue to provide a sense of place and photo opportunity for attendees inside.
Photograph by Phoenix Convention Center
Takeaways
This project was an informative and valuable exercise in creating a visual identity that's adaptable to multiple kinds of media, from digital to print to physical. As one of my first experiences with placemaking, this was a challenging project, but it allowed me to learn the principles of placemaking, particularly creating an immersive temporary visual identity that transforms a space. Had I had more time to work on the project, I would have continued expanding the system, perhaps creating bus posters or interior wayfinding signage, using the color scheme, extruded shapes, and the letter/number grid.
Process work
Translating 3D Experimentation to Sketches
We began the project with 3D type explorations with a variety of materials, then translating those explorations into 2D sketches, to push us to explore a brainstorming process beyond what we might normally use for 2D work. After some hand-drawn 2D explorations, I then moved to digital iterations.
Creating Visual Identity
After creating my typeface, I then moved the lockup. I worked with a set color scheme inspired by heat maps and iterated off the same principles I used to create the typeface; urban sprawl and high-contrast shadows.
Placemaking Media Rationale
The animation came together as an organic continuation of the motion implied in the logotype.
I decided to create the bench upon suggestion that the signage we made didn't necessarily have to be two-dimensional. I played with a few different ways in translating the logotype to the bench, but I ultimately chose to extrude the letters vertically rather than at an angle for usability's sake and eliminated the stroke around the letters to clean up the form.
An earlier version of the outdoor bench mockup
The street banners were the product of very freeform brainstorming. I had been struggling to expand the logotype system, so I began playing with the typefaces and colors I'd been using and eventually came upon the grid of numbers and letters, eventually polishing it into a system that could be flexible to different rectangular spaces.
Finally, I created the save the date mailer using the number and letter grid and the letter/number grid system. After some early iteration with simple folding mailers, I decided to play with a foldable mailer that would be able to showcase the urban-sprawl-inspired logo at full length.
Initial brainstorming for save the date mailer