signage Archives - Simon Inc

Loved reading this story: how the centre for ageing better are using signage to challenge ageist stereotypes.

More fabulous creative work from the 2020 Design Week awards finalists…

A couple more of my favourite finalists from the Design Week Awards, from the Identity rebrand and Environmental graphics categories

2020 was a grim year in so many ways, but it also saw some awesome creative work, much of which was recognised in the Design Week Awards 2020.

So I though I would kick Department of Opinions back into life with a few posts showing some of my favourites from their finalists…

As a realtively recent fifty-something, I am old enough to remember the bad old days of the UK in the late 70s and early 80s, a time of football hooliganism, race riots and bin-collection strikes.

The National Front were on the rise and rampant racism, sexism and homophobia were not just tolerated but were prevalent in the national press, mainstream advertising and on prime-time TV.

The late 80s saw the introduction of the great political correctness experiment – promoted at the time in London by the GLC who took the position that, by restricting and legislating against the language of prejudice and discrimination, particularly within public organisations such as schools and local authorities, they could create an environment of respect and tolerance towards marginalised and minority groups. It was a much derided and criticized approach and attracted accusations of being superficial and skin-deep. Even now the very term “Political Correctness” remains a pejorative term in the right wing press.

However, 30 years on we live in a very different society, and although it is certainly not a perfect one, respect and tolerance of those same minority groups and viewpoints is on the whole far more widespread. The use of the type of derogatory and divisive language and attitudes expressed so openly in the 70s and 80s would be viewed as offensive, abusive and completely unacceptable in public institutions now.

Exactly how much of that change can be directly attributed to the introduction of politically correct speak is impossible to say, but there can be little doubt that the use of non-discriminatory, respectful and positive language when talking about specific groups of people can lead, not just to a superficial change of behaviour, but also to a change in the very attitudes and beliefs that underlie that behaviour.

And if that is the case for spoken language, surely we should be adopting the same thinking towards the visual language of pictograms and signage and wayfinding icons and symbols?

The accessible icon project was started in 2010 by artist, author, design researcher, and professor Sara Hendren and philosophy professor Brian Glenney. Sarah was working on a number of topics focusing on adaptive and assistive technologies, inclusive design, accessible architecture and related ideas, and Brian was involved in social activism and graffiti and street culture.

Together they began to question the design of the universally accepted symbol for disability access – commonly known as the wheelchair or handicapped symbol. They saw the symbol as representative of people with disabilities as passive and totally dependent, a mechanical stick figure stuck in helpless immobility waiting for some benevolent, able-bodied person to give them a helping hand.

The pair wanted to create a new symbol promoting a more dynamic, positive image of people with disabilities, with movement, action, independence and accessibility at the forefront. The revised icon portrays a person, head forward and arms up, in control of their own movement and navigation, engaged and active.

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Here’s an article I wrote for the September issue of London Business Matters magazine about the role that environmental branding can play in turning new developments into communities rather than soulless groups of disconnected buildings.

It is an undeniable truth that the current development boom in London is changing, not only the visual cityscape but also the character and personality of areas and communities. In the part of West London where we are based, swathes of ex-council blocks, underused light industrial and warehouse units have been cleared to make way for high value, high density riverside developments totalling thousands of new dwellings. Some of the new-builds are mixed-use, some residential only, some beautifully designed with elegant balconies and landscaped communal areas, others…well, not so much!

What they all share though, is a sense of separatism – from each other and from the incumbent local businesses and communities in the area. They exist cheek by jowl but exude an aura of isolation and loneliness. Inevitable, perhaps, for new builds, but not unavoidable. The opportunity is there for planners, local authorities and developers to be a real force for positive change and regeneration, and to benefit themselves as a result.

Placemaking has been in the lexicon of urban development for decades – so much so that it has transcended buzzword status to become a cliché, engendering frequent lip-service but all too rarely, effective implementation. But the principles of placemaking still offer a solution to urban separatism and a potential pathway to creating vibrant integrated and desirable destinations. To achieve this, a placemaking strategy must pull together planners, architects, landscapers, community and commerce with a common purpose, galvanising involvement and participation from existing businesses and residents and attracting new input and investment.