Graphics

In my final year of Graduate school, I decided to join a graphics class as one of my electives. I had very little experience working in Graphic Design, prior to this class. At the time, the school of Landscape Architecture and the Tennessee RiverLine, were partnering together with the Graphic Design School for a class based on creating wayfinding, or navigational signs for traveling on and along the Tennessee River and the parks and sites along the way. One of the challenges of this was that we needed to create a cohesive series of signs that could be implemented on land and on the water. Together with my partners, MC McGovern and Tanner Dunning, we created a series of signs, each contributing based on our curriculum, myself coming from a background of architecture and landscape design. The following are drawings of the signs and detailing some of the assembly.  

Starting off, this sign was designed to be a large sign, viewed from the car, when entering or driving up to any site. The class focused on a nearby Pavilion that was going to be built nearby as our first location, with the idea that these signs could one day be adapted by all of the locations along the Tennessee River, such as campgrounds, historical sites, etc. This would be the official entrance sign, and as such we were anticipating that it would need to be updated frequently. So, I included a system to essentially slide pieces into place, with a quick lock, to make it easy for quickly changing out elements of the sign.  

The drawings shown here were designed to show only the parts that would be changed out and accessed when updating the signs, not the entire construction, though those are available as well. We wanted to showcase how easy it would be to use and update the system we created.   

This was a sign that due to its size could be entirely included along the drive into the sites, or along the paths when walking. It was designed to be a more permanent installation, and be used for stop signs, caution, and directions to locations.

This would be the traditional wayfinding sign, with our new logo playing into the shape of the sign, with the screws designed to be covered with caps to prevent them from distracting from the aesthetics of the signs.  

This was my favorite part to design, wayfinding breakpoints along the water. As a person who loves kayaking, it was incredible to figure out how to design floating breakpoints along the riverfront. We came up with the idea to have two versions, one smaller one, which you could put a planter on and include milage and would be deployed frequently along the river to provide opportunities for people to take a break and tie off when kayaking. Those are below, and as the scale shows you, compared to the human figure, these would be relatively small.

 Up above, we designed these floating docks, that would have enough room for maps and signs, and you could climb up on and take a break and eat lunch, take a nap, etc. while having the opportunity to again tie off your kayak.  There would again be planters, and several of them could be attached together to change the size of the breakpoint as needed.

The map/kiosk is relatively self-explanatory, as it would be where we would put our maps, site information, etc. all in one location.  

This would be a smaller sign you would see along the trails, as well as a birdhouse that fit within our designs, and the shape of the sign would point the way.  

Additional information signs, that we envisioned either along the trails, or in addition to the map kiosks.

This would be a map large enough to read from the car, intended to be placed along the roadside, with information such as how to reach parking lots, visitor centers, boat ramps, etc.

This was a last-minute addition to the project, which was a quickly designed pavilion inspired by the ripples along the Tennessee River. It would function as a jungle gym, a place to eat and relax, and more. It was an incredibly reviewing class and experience, and I learned so much about graphics, and wayfinding.