New York University Department of Social and Cultural Analysis Design: Design360 Fabrication: Xibitz Photos: Michael Moran
Although NYU is in the process of rolling out a cohesive exterior signage program for its sprawling campus, the university lets individual departments design interior signage that is unique to each discipline. When the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis moved to a new one-floor, 16,000-sq.-ft. space in Greenwich Village, it was an opportunity not only to unify multiple disciplines that had previously been under separate roofs, but also to create a distinct yet integrated architectural and environmental graphic design aesthetic for the department. Taking cues from the neutral color and materials palette by LTL Architects, Design360 used non-photo blue for the wayfinding and signage program and juxtaposed 2D and 3D materials that play off the planes of the space. For example, large-scale letters of a conference room sign transition from vinyl appliqué on glass to 3form letterforms on the wall. Design360 also played with fragmentation of letterforms. In the restroom, the word “toilet” is fragmented in brown vinyl on the exterior (only the beginning and end of the word is visible), with the full word appearing on the restroom door in non-photo blue. And sliding resin doors at the entryway feature fragments of the letters “SCA” in vinyl.
Top and middle: Design360 blended 2D and 3D materials, with large-scale letters morphing from vinyl appliqué on glass to 3form letterforms. Above: The fragmentation theme continues to the restrooms, where the beginning and end of the word “toilet” appear in brown vinyl and the entire word appears in nonphoto blue on the door. Left: Fragmented letterforms represent the varying viewpoints that students encounter in their studies. A reception area backdrop is made of 3form panels that can be slid together in several combinations to form the initials of the department name.
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