PORTLAND PARK SIGNAGE
Style Guide by Sam Garcia
A special thanks to those who talked with me about what they do and how they do it. Without them and my advisors this project would not be half of what it is.
CONTENTS
QUESTION BACKGROUND INTRODUCTION RESEARCH SYSTEM
SCHEMATICS SPACING TYPE COLOR AND SHAPE APPLICATION MOCKUPS
4 6 8 10 14 16 18 20 22 26 34
01 QUESTION
4
How do you design Portland Parks signage that promotes personal investment and understanding of public space? This book reflects the proposed rebrand and styling for Portland Public Park signage. 5
02 BACKGROUND
6
The Problem
Within the parks system signage we see a series of inconsistencies. Signs that carry the same information often have different design treatments (signs A and C) and signs with different information have the same treatment (signs B and C). This not only leads to a divided voice within the Portland Park system but also causes confusion when trying to find signs that carry specific information. There is also no signage that provides visitors with information about the background of the space that can be easily found. This makes connecting and understanding the natural space more difficult. One of the primary goals of this rebrand is to unify and clarify the currently inconsistent park signage.
A
B
The Solution
To begin to solve the issue of inconsistency within the Portland Public Parks signage system, I recommend a complete rebrand of the signage that would unite the voice of the Portland Public Parks system. These signs (but more specifically the placemaking sign) invites users to learn more about the space through simpler information that can be expanded upon by scanning the QR code.
C
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03 INTRODUCTION
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This book reflects the updated styling for two of the Portland Public Parks sings. 1) the first is the introduction signage that is often seen when entering the parks, 2) and the second is a sign that presents visitors with the opportunity to actively learn about the space they are in. The first sign, which I will call the welcoming sign, works to enforce the message in the secondary sign by unifying the visual language throughout the park. The purpose of the second sign, which I will call the placemaking sign, is to provide visitors with a way to connect with the space in a more symbiotic way. This suggests that visitors move from being in a mindset of use to that of a visitor when in Portland parks.
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04 RESEARCH
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For this redesign, the Portland Park System was understood through two primary models. The first is the Portland Parks system as an experience driven park system. Rather than providing similar facilities at each park, Portland parks provide visitors with unique experiences at each park location. The Portland Public Parks service breaks down user experience of these locations into 5 stages. These 5 stages are anticipation, perception, interpretation, evaluation, and recollection. These five stages work in a cyclical matter and understanding where each of these stages exists within the visitors experience is fundamental to understanding the intention of this redesign.
ANTICIPATE
What are the user’s needs?
PERCEIVE
How does the user understand
INTERPRET
How does the user understand
EVALUATE RECALL
their experience as it occurs?
their experience after it occurs? Where the users needs met? What does the user remember from their experience?
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NATURE
PPS NATURE/ PEOPLE
PEOPLE
The goal of the placemaking signs is to be a catalyst of change in how we understand our experience within space, but more specifically Portland Public Parks. We often discuss people and interaction as use, however the intention of these signs is to move away from that interpretation to that of visiting suggesting a more harmonious existence within the space brought about through understanding the natural space on a deeper level.
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The second model that the Portland Parks system follows relates to how they categorize the different parks. The parks can be broken down into 3 categories;
-P eople (parks meant to mainly facilitate social interaction) - People Nature (parks meant to bring people and nature together) - a nd Nature (spaces whose main concern is preservation). Understanding these categories and where parks fit in with this system leads to a greater understanding of how the space is meant to be understood in relation to the larger parks system. By highlighting this information in the process, creating a system that accurately reflects the parks system becomes clearer.
welcoming sign
NON SPECIFIC TO LOCATION AND ARE AT MANY PARKS
placemaking sign
HIGHLY SPECIFIC TO LOCATION AND ARE LOCATION SPECIFIC
The placemaking sign fills an information gap between the welcoming sign and and highly specified signs acting as a bridge between the two. 13
04 SYSTEM
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The main goal of the placemaking sign was to balance content and engagement. To meet that balance I organized the visual hierarchy so that the further you go the more in depth the information is, the most in depth information being the description. The QR code allows visitors to continue their engagement with the space and learn more about its natural features. The welcoming sign acts to reinforce the visual language in the placemaking sign developing a more consistent voice to the parks.
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SCHEMATICS
4 ft.
1
- name of park
2
- Portland Parks logo - hours of operation
1.33 ft.
WELCOMING SIGN
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4 ft.
2.5 ft.
1
- name of park
3
- native land that park is on - year park was founded - QR code linking to specific park page
4
- description of park
2
- Portland Parks logo - hours of operation
PLACEMAKING SIGN
The Structure The section numbers indicate the order in which the signs are intended to be read. The hierarchy is structured so that the greater the number the more dense the information is.
(ex. Section 1 has only the name, which is the meant to be the broadest information, where as section 4 has a description of the parks features.)
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SPACING
1.46" 3.43" 1.15" 3.43" 1.46" 2.97" 1.04"
18
0.96"
1.45" 3.43" 1.45" 3.43" 0.88" 1.78"
0.88"
3.34" 1.03"
1.03"
3.32" 1.11"
1.11"
3.2" 1.11"
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TYPE
HALYARD BOLD
ABCDEFGHIJK LMNOPQRSTU VWXYZ HALYARD MEDIUM
ABCDEFGHIJK LMNOPQRSTU VWXYZ
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I chose the Halyard type family for this redesign. The typeface is a san serif with slightly quirky elements that suggest motion such as the tail on the capital “Q.” The typefaces slightly awkward stresses in the bolder weight also make it feel more personable and approachable. The typefaces large family allows for a variety of use and expansion into future signage updates as well.
HALYARD REGULAR
ABCDEFGHIJK LMNOPQRSTU VWXYZ
A
B C D E B F A
D
Park Name
T YP E FAC E
Halyard Display Bold
Year Founded Date
LE ADING
TYPEFAC E
LE AD I N G
350pt
Halyard Display Extralight
(N/A)
T YP E SIZE
TR AC KING
TYPE SIZE
TR AC KI N G
372pt
50pt
250pt
25pt
B
E
Subection Header
Description Section
LE ADING
TYPEFAC E
LE AD I N G
Halyard Display Regular
(N/A)
Halyard Display Regular
96pt
T YP E SIZE
TR AC KING
TYPE SIZE
TR AC KI N G
25pt
70pt
25pt
T YP E FAC E
93pt C
F
Tribe Names
Hours of Park Operation
LE ADING
TYPEFAC E
LE AD I N G
Halyard Display Regular
92pt
Halyard Display Medium
(N/A)
T YP E SIZE
TR AC KING
TYPE SIZE
TR AC KI N G
25pt
167pt
0pt
T YP E FAC E
84pt
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COLOR AND SHAPE
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Rose white is a warmer varitation of white and is meant to feel a little easier on the eyes while still providing enough contrast from the green to meet AAA color contrast.
PORTLAND GREEN #005734 CMYK
C = 91 M = 38
Y = 91 K = 38
RGB
R=0 G = 87
B = 52
Portland green is inspired by the current green of the Portland Parks system but has been made slightly richer to feel more inviting while still providing enough contrast from the rose white to meet AAA color contrast.
CMYK
C=0 M=6
Y=6 K=7
RGB
R = 255 G = 239
B = 230
ROSE WHITE #FFEFE6
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Shapes
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The shapes placed behind some if the text is meant to feel friendly while inviting motion through the box. Whereas a square may feel strong and static, this shape promotes movement through the information.
YEAR FOUNDED
X
X 2X
2X
NATIVE LAND OF THE
X
X 2X
2X
ADDITIONAL INFO
X
X 2X
2X
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APPLICATION
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This section shows examples of the system depicting how it would work with other parks in Portland.
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MOCKUPS
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