The Cobbler’s Children
Posted in Government, Where We Work on September 4th, 2009 by Mark VanderKlipp – Be the first to commentRemember the adage that this old guy’s kids don’t have any shoes? No longer true in Traverse City: our own downtown now sports a Corbin Designed wayfinding system!
Given that Traverse City is a year-round destination for shopping, festivals, epicurean events, outdoor recreation and all-around fun, the environment needed to respond to the expressed needs of visitors getting lost, and merchants who wanted to bring those visitors to their doors. Working with diverse community stakeholders, we identified three main downtown districts, connecting them with wayfinding signage.
Brightly colored sign types, most applied to existing streetscape elements, appear throughout downtown to direct vehicles to major destinations, parking, and between districts. Pedestrian-scaled guide signs feature key destinations such as the Visitor Center, restrooms and more dining and shopping opportunities. And detailed merchant directories give visitors all the information they need to create their own memorable experiences.
We’ve included just a few photos of the preliminary installation. This program has generated a lot of positive buzz on the streets of our fair city!
Applied to an existing lamp post, the system is both attractive and economical.
Map elements and a merchant directory (to come) guide visitors throughout downtown
Pedestrian guide signs move visitors between beaches, shopping and points of information.
Our work has been showcased as part of a series on “Placemaking” within Northwestern Michigan’s Second Wave online magazine. The article features several projects from our portfolio, and an explanation of the phrase “Good design goes unnoticed.”
We came across this gem on YouTube, an interview with our client Arthur Mullen, Director of the Mount Clemens DDA. Among the comments featured in this interview*:
“The wayfinding system is especially important because we have a lot of out of town visitors who are coming into the city and we have a couple different grid systems … and it makes getting around downtown for someone who’s… More...
For the Sept.-Oct. 2011 edition of Medical Construction & Design magazine, Corbin Design president Mark VanderKlipp researched and wrote an article that places wayfinding signage in context with the entire range of brand communications that a healthcare system engages. Using Scripps Health as a case study, the article addresses how internal teams can organize to best approach staff, volunteers, patients and visitors with simple messages that reflect an institution’s culture… More...
Heidi Jones
Hesper Smyth
Mark VanderKlipp
Rick Stringer