Council OKs wayfinding signage
Published 8:18 pm Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Finding one’s way around Washington should become easier if a new signage program designed by a local company, with input from the city, is implemented by the city.
Washington’s City Council, during its meeting Monday, listened to a presentation by Deep Fried Creative Advertising concerning the Wayfinding Program the city wants to implement. After the approximate13-minute presentation, the council gave the OK for the project to move forward. The wayfinding strategies designed for Washington would improve traffic circulation (vehicles and pedestrians) in the city and direct visitor dollars to where they would have the most economic impact, according to John Rodman, the city’s director of community and cultural services.
“Retail environments thrive when visitors cane easily find their way there. Districts become popular destinations when a brand-supportive wayfinding system illuminates a clearly marked path for patrons,” Rodman wrote in a memorandum to the mayor and City Council.
Adam Feldhousen, one of two Deep Fried Creative spokesmen at the meeting, said the colors proposed for the wayfinding signs are consistent with those used in the newest city logos, which were unveiled about two years ago. Councilman Doug Mercer asked for a sample of a proposed sign so he could better evaluate the color combinations, but Feldhousen told him that no sample sign existed.
The design package presented Monday is a mixture of two design concepts, one what incorporated a historic look (Concept A) and one that incorporated a modern look (Concept B). In a survey of 137 people, 77 people (56.2 percent) preferred Concept B and 56 people (40.8 percent) preferred Concept A. Four people (3 percent) did not respond.
Feldhousen said the design package presented Monday is “a fair representation of what the public would like to see and what we would like to see.”
Dustin Dixon, the other Deep Fried Creative spokesman, displayed a sample of the sheet metal that will be used to make the signs. Dixon said the metal sheeting — of considerable weight and strength — is rust-resistant and easy to maintain. Metallic decals would be used as letters on the signs, Dixon said.
“The next step in this process is going to be identifying where to consolidate and where the best places for these signs will be,” Feldhousen told the council.