Read the article here.

“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 not familiar a little confusing.”

“The last thing you want to do when you’re driving is sit there and worry about being able to get to your destination without getting lost. It’s part about visitor experience.”

“It also shows that the community is making an investment in the downtown to make it more attractive for business. The wayfinding system is really geared to solving problems for merchants and businesses.”

“It’s a visual system, a uniform system, and will get rid of a lot of visual clutter that will be coming down as the wayfinding system goes up.”

“Another factor is that we’ve got signs throughout the surrounding area, which helps to highlight our location which helps the marketing component of our community as well.”

“I think people, when they come into a community and see attractive signage, receive a positive impression for how the community speaks about itself.”

“It says that we’re open for business; it’s a multi-tiered positive that feeds back on itself, encouraging economic development because business owners will say ‘the community is interested in us as well because they’re helping people get to our businesses.”

“The last thing you want is a visitor to your town becoming lost, being frustrated or frustrated when they finally find the business they’re looking for. This is the goal of the system.”

While this interview was done entirely without Corbin Design’s assistance, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Special thanks to Nancy Berggren and the Bath City Beat for reporting this story.

*Some comments edited for clarity

Link to the full article here (PDF format).

Excerpts from the article:

It’s important to note that wayfinding is a communication challenge as much as it is a signage task. Certainly signage plays a significant role, but there are many potential ways to reach a visitor prior to their arrival with relevant, reassuring messages. Verbally, each of these must be speaking in the same way. Visually, use of a similar graphic approach to mapping and the presentation of information will build familiarity with the program and make wayfinding tools recognizable, whether online, in a mobile device or on a sign.

Regions are realizing that a shared approach to attracting business, resident and tourist dollars will be a net benefit. Overcoming competitive obstacles is always a difficult part of the process, since towns and destinations may have been competing for the same tourist dollars, sometimes for generations. It is important to shift thinking to the old adage that “a rising tide lifts all boats”: if more visitors are drawn to the region, everyone will profit. This can be a significant cultural hurdle, one that must be overcome by all stakeholders at the beginning of the process.

A consolidated approach to wayfinding unifies a region both verbally and visually, and gives visitors the tools they need to navigate successfully. Most importantly, the information provided to a visitor can make them feel like an “insider:” if they feel competent and confident, they are able to discover unique events, attractions and destinations on their own. When they do this, they’re much more likely to share this positive experience with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors. At the same time, wayfinding can build awareness among residents to all that their region has to offer – tools used in wayfinding programs are not only intended for visitors from far away! In most instances, local and regional visitors (within 30-50 miles) are the primary audiences for wayfinding.

1. Hire a professional. While a lot about your workflow can seem obvious, there’s probably a lot of workarounds your staff are employing that they just don’t see day to day. We hired an architect (one of our project manager’s husbands) who knew enough about the business to make salient recommendations. He also saw ways to recycle existing building materials, office furnishings that we would not have seen.

Office workspace during renovation and construction

2. Negotiate with your landlord (if you have one). We were looking for alternate space downtown but our LL brought us a great deal and we negotiated a long-term lease. We consolidated our space and the LL sprung for the structural changes, including busting through brick walls. Our landlord also happens to be our bank, which made the negotiations a win-win.

3. Take advantage of your internal brains. When it came time to organize the space, our designers/PMs knew much more about storage, adjacencies, workflow, etc. than the architect. They had final say on their own workspace, locations of printers, mail stations, etc. We managed the project internally with our VP of Technology who dealt with wiring, server locations, etc.

The same space opened up, with masonry arches being constructed

4. We offered staff time for some of our designers to research, propose and build work tools. We sprang for a bunch of pizza and beer to get some of the dirty work done, including painting. We recycled thousands of pounds of old samples, project materials, project documentation, etc. Then we went through and did it again.

Fuel for hungry Corbin Designers

New space prior to move-in; we removed conference rooms and created an open office environment

5. Pay cash whenever possible.

6. Design for the ultimate solution. Because we watched the economy tank while we were implementing this plan, reality set in – but we still own the concept for our major team space and kitchen, private enclaves, etc. and hope to implement in the future.

7. At the same time, we were investing in technology tools to allow us to be less dependent on one physical space. We changed the culture and our internal policies to match that philosophy. And when the December blizzard hit Traverse City, we moved forward without a hitch.

8. Allow the redesign to be a reflection of your culture. Prior to this effort, we were separated into four suites divided by a public hallway. For some unknown reason, we were also primarily divided by gender. This redesign allows us to cross-pollinate, share ideas and even overhear conversations that build camaraderie and a shared knowledge base.

9. Reduce your footprint whenever possible. By design, our new floor plan incorporates more work stations and technology into a smaller space. We have incorporated room for future growth into the plan, primarily by reducing storage of unnecessary items and turning it into more productive space.

10. Make it fun!

A typical street scene in this gracious South Carolina town

From November 17-19, our team comprised of Mark VanderKlipp, Heidi Jones and Jeff Frank were invited to do an assessment of wayfinding for Georgetown, South Carolina. This beautiful, historic town has so much to offer both local residents and tourists: from excellent shopping and dining to historical architecture and friendly locals (of course!).

While on site, we had breakfast at a small restaurant on Front Street. Since the proprietor was busy, a local sheriff’s deputy stood up from his breakfast, took our coffee order, then delivered it with cream and sugar! This shows how hospitable folks in this town are, especially to those of us from far away.

We are excited that they’ve entrusted the design of their wayfinding system to Corbin Design. During the initial stakeholder meeting, the Georgetown Times was present to report on the initiative, comments from our Corbin team and the audience.

Read the Georgetown Times article here

If you have a chance, we would highly recommend a visit to the historic seaport of Georgetown!

Of course there are many challenges in an effort such as this. Bringing diverse and far-flung communities together will require a tremendous amount of communication and coordination. So the presentation culminated in an open discussion about how communities have approached this challenge, and what that might mean to us locally with the Grand Vision.

The session summary is located here, as well as an early AM interview by our local NBC affiliate.

Regional Identity Through Wayfinding

“We listen closely to our clients and what their end users need. We also watch trends in the economy and society to verify that information. Because everyone at some point gets lost, or at least disoriented, we have a broad pool of experience to draw from.”

Note: the article will open in a Web browser using the zmags viewer; the article begins on Page 6 of the magazine

Link to “Allowing Creativity to Flow”

Northwest Michigan Business Magazine, April 2010

The Value of Local

Living in a relatively small town in an economically challenged state, we understand the intrinsic benefit of this concept. In fact, many of our staffers are involved in community initiatives to bring Traverse City, MI into a more global mindset, while building on the things that make our city unique. We know that the choices we make day to day either contribute to, or detract from, our local community. And we support this concept in communities across America; creatively rebuilding through local initiatives will help our nation pull out of this downturn.

It’s amazing the kinds of businesses that this area attracts. Daily we see examples of people who’ve chosen to live and work here, both for the quality of life it affords, as well as the opportunity for growth. Global enterprises and personalities have chosen Traverse City as a home base for many reasons; in response, we’ve grown to become a world class destination.

Lately we’ve experienced a movement toward localism as we’ve approached potential clients: a project in Illinois was awarded to an in-state competitor rather than our Michigan-based firm. Conversely, we have benefited from this mindset by winning projects in Michigan over out of state firms.

We’d like to take a moment to comment on this trend as we look toward the future.

The Value of Distance

With each new project, we bring the perspective of a first-time visitor. This allows us to be objective in our assessment and design, often leading to discoveries that might come as a surprise to our clients. The saying goes that a fish has no awareness of the water it’s in; in much the same way, the perspective of an outside resource can provide unforeseen value, especially as it relates to wayfinding.

Case in point: for one large regional client, we brought the point of view of that first-time visitor to the table: faced with a region containing almost 100 cities and townships, and within those several primary destinations, how do I find my way?

We’ve created a system of wayfinding cues that might not have been obvious to locals: first, we broke the region into three separate districts: downtown, the city limits and the county. Then we created permanent reference points for visitors: the network of highways that penetrate the region. Using these cues, a visitor can triangulate a destination in a number of ways: DOT signs, printed maps, wayfinding signage and/or technology tools. We saw a resource that locals took for granted and used it to wayfinding advantage. Destinations throughout the region can now use this simple logic as a coding device when communicating to their audiences; as new destinations are added, the system can expand indefinitely. New wayfinding signage currently being installed conveys this logic.

When should a community look beyond itself?

As we well know, not every service is available to every community. This is particularly true when one considers highly skilled and niche services such as wayfinding design and programming. Many institutions and cities have identified wayfinding as a priority, and often look to local resources as a first option. But if indeed they find that there are no qualified local designers, it’s important to look outside of their immediate area. Because public funds are often allocated for these projects, finding the most qualified company for the job ensures that those funds are invested wisely.

The Reality of Distance

While an outside perspective is valuable, sometimes an outside presence is questioned. We’ve seen this in many communities where we’ve worked: “why does it take a firm from Michigan to solve our local challenges? And why are we paying them to come all the way to (insert city name here) to do this work?”

Fair questions, to be sure.

In medicine, you bring in a specialist to diagnose, treat and develop a strategy to resolve your condition. But it would be a waste of time and money to rely on that specialist for day to day care. Rather, you rely on a local practitioner to help you with the day to day management of a condition. It’s exactly the same with design services: it’s your investment in design that puts you on the right track, if you’ll pardon the pun. It’s the designer’s investment in you that keeps everyone moving forward.

Additionally, technology allows us to be present when budgets do not. In recent years our cost of doing business has dropped substantially because of WebEx and other technologies. We regularly rely on Web-based mapping to confirm and reinforce wayfinding decisions; and we often partner with local firms for their perspective and presence as needed.

All Sign Shops Are Not Equal

The perspective we’re providing on design services applies equally to sign fabrication. We know that all cities have sign shops. So why wouldn’t an institution hire a local commercial sign shop to implement their wayfinding system? Experience tells us that not all sign shops are capable:

• At times, the complexity and management of a large project is beyond the capacity of a local sign fabricator
• Nationally-recognized fabricators can bring experience in project management, engineering, permitting and economies of scale to bear on a project, often saving time and money in the long run.
• These fabricators have access to a large shop in which to marshal supplies and store completed components prior to installation. Most commercial sign shops do not possess such capacity.
• Often wayfinding signs are located along major roadways and require installers to safely manage traffic while they work. A well-equipped, experienced installer is capable of accomplishing this.

Many of our clients use national fabricators to engineer and build wayfinding program elements. They often employ local subcontractors to assist in installation and management. But we know that for ongoing maintenance, it’s best to keep it local, to develop relationships and understanding over time to help maintain the system. The City of Grand Rapids is one example of many Corbin clients who’ve achieved success in this way.

Conclusion

If you look to our past experience, our clients have provided substantial evidence that there is value in choosing a specialized consultant to manage an important issue such as wayfinding. As with signage, not everyone has the experience or the capacity to do it efficiently or correctly. Our specialization in wayfinding design for our clients is in many ways unmatched in North America. We continue to draw on this experience as we bring our point of view to new challenges and partnerships.

We welcome your questions and commentary!

In this economy, it’s important to prove yourself as a versatile and willing free agent, able to bring expertise and perhaps a new perspective to any task that becomes necessary. During the life of a small business, people can potentially wear many hats to fill gaps in expertise

Case in point: a new Project Manager at Corbin (name withheld by request) was brought in to learn the ropes from our more experienced PMs when another was due to go on maternity leave. Because of the specialized nature of the work we do, it was important to allow adequate time for her to ramp up, building not only capability and knowledge, but also relationships with clients for the duration of the leave. Having been properly prepared, she dove in and managed the work beautifully. Soon she was not only assisting on existing projects, but developing new projects of her own.

Then came the Great Recession.

Corbin’s management needed to usher two people out of the company who were unfortunately not a part of the core business. It was a difficult time for all, including those who were having to pick up duties that had been assigned to full-time staff.

This Project Manager was asked to handle some administrative tasks that had previously been outside of her job description, such as expense reports. She accepted these assignments with the same energy that she’d given to her project management work. The results speak for themselves:

• An efficient, detail oriented approach, eliminating errors for our clients and extra costs for the company
• New internal protocols for submitting information
• Customized expense submittals per specific client requests
• Addition of expense reports into our studio management software
• New technologies purchased to save costs, paper and provide electronic verification of expenses for clients
• Most recently, a 4-figure annual savings on a Web conferencing contract!

Finding the right people has been and always will be critical to the ongoing success of any firm. Once we found someone like this Project Manager, we wanted to keep her motivated and busy, whether with billable work or in support of other functions. Her ability to bring fresh eyes and energy to a task that could be construed as drudgery saved us money and was a big relief to our other support staff. While she was surely not the only one who picked up extra duties in this recession, she’s used her position and skills to save us significant dollars.

More importantly, she’s shown us all a bit of everyday heroism.

But we need to be careful not to cross the line beyond what’s necessary for you. In most cases, an initial proposal will clearly define responsibilities and deliverables, a set fee for those deliverables, and a timeline for completion. Without this, a design firm is either working on a retainer or time and materials basis; even so, there needs to be some delineation of expectations.

There comes a point where we need to ‘teach a man to fish.’

Part of our responsibility is to design the process as well as the outcomes. In order to create a solution that is sustainable over time, we need to develop solutions that educate our clients’ internal staff, as well as addressing the needs of your end user. Indeed, often the most important audience is your internal staff and their ability to maintain and sustain the system we’ve designed together. Absent that, erosion quickly occurs and you lose the value of your initial investment in Corbin Design.

Similarly, if we as designers do not keep a close eye on project scope, timeframes and identified deliverables, we lose our investment in you, our client. If you’ve become too dependent on us for consultation, review and opinions, our billable time begins to add up. Without proper tracking of project phases, a tightly defined budget can begin to erode.

We offer the following to you, helping to create the proper balance:

1. Review the proposal and expectations as the first order of business. We know that sometimes client teams are assembled without full knowledge of project parameters, especially if a purchasing/legal department had final say over the contract terms. It is in the best interests of all concerned to carefully review the terms of the agreement the first time all team members are assembled.
2. Keep the lines of communication open. At Corbin, our Project Managers are tasked with closely tracking budgets and deliverables via an internal studio management software tool. Identifying a key person on your team to act in the same capacity will assure an ongoing system of checks and balances.
3. Define expectations. Part of our goal of ‘designing the process’ is to provide you with deliverables that you can fully understand. It is important for us to clearly state whether submitted designs are in draft form or finalized, whether we’re asking for input or final approval, what time commitments your team will need to make, and the deadlines you’ll need to hit. Clear, concise instructions will accompany every deliverable.
4. Call to confirm. When we send a document, a project manager will call to confirm receipt of that document. Whether or not your team receives the call directly, at least we’ve closed the loop and created an awareness that we’re there for questions or clarifications.
5. WebEx is a wonderful thing. Our experience in recent years points to the effectiveness of technology tools in keeping in touch with you. Building these meeting points into a project schedule and budget demonstrates our intention to stay on top of the project for the duration. Additionally, saving on travel costs allows more flexibility in budgeting, both for you and for us.

As consultants we know that there’s a point at which we need to help our clients take the reigns. It’s as important for us as it is for you to assure the long-term prospects of our respective businesses. By paying close attention to the points above, we’ll all see the benefits of a well-designed project process.