We’ve learned a lot in the process. If you’re thinking about a change, here’s a guide, with examples – Before and After.

Part 1: understand and connect with your audience, and don’t lose them in the process

Understand the Audience

Take a step back to think: who are you designing for and marketing to? If there is more than one audience, integrate that into the new design. Not having to develop multiple solutions is a budget-friendly solution.

The original Seattle Senior Housing symbol used a crane, a traditional symbol of wisdom. In interviews, our clients mentioned seniors often learned about the program from their neighbors, and family members. We recommended a solution with a broad visual appeal to seniors and a younger demographic, and designed a symbol that says “home”.

Simplify, Clarify, Connect

Are you sending the right message to your audience? At every touch point?

Old Directory

In the Northwest, Interior Designers bring their clients to view the very best custom furnishings at the Seattle Design Center. However, the first point of contact for visitors was this directory above.

New Directory

As part of a rebranding of the Design Center, we designed a new Concierge (Directory) to connect to Interior Designers and their clients. We used a shape and form to reflect the furnishings, materials to appeal to the senses and added a digital directory for convenience.

Build a Bridge for your fans

During a branding makeover, it can be easy to forget customers who are fans and support you. Don’t lose them while you’re trying to attract a new audience. Bring along the loyal customers, and help them understand and embrace the new branding.

This popular retail center recognized their existing branding was out of date and didn’t connect with the new customers moving into the area. To be sure they kept their loyal customers, we designed new branding to reflect the friendly, approachable nature of the center.

The clinic is located in Enunclaw, Washington, about halfway between Seattle and Mount Rainier National Park. It’s an area with a mix of farms, families, and outdoor enthusiasts who frequent nearby Crystal Mountain for skiing and Mt. Rainier for hiking and mountaineering.

We used the outdoor setting as the basis of the new brand vocabulary. There’s a knockout view of Mt. Rainier from the clinic offices and that silhouette found it’s way into the logo and business papers.  The abundant plants and flowers in the area became iconic elements for the exam room signage and the photos reflect the healthy lifestyle the clinic promotes.

MCD also designed templates and standards for  the business collateral, signage and digital media. The client team has promised they’ll implement them, but not right now. We’ve had a great snow year and the lifts are still running at Crystal Mountain.

Our client, Dr. Feeney, (not pictured, Dr. Rush).

What do the letter W, Facebook and the University of Washington have in common? Michael Courtney Design. The University of Washington is sporting our iconic “W” monument sign in their profile photographs on Facebook. It turns out that not only is the University using the W in this fashion but so are hundreds of students. It appears our W has gone viral.

Of course, being branding and environmental graphic specialists, we think that is not only cool, but very appropriate. We encourage you to see the W for yourself. It is that massive bronze icon that greets you at the main campus entrance off of 45th Ave. NE in Seattle, Washington.

Many clients come to us with their problems: they’ve neglected their brand and need a tune up, or they’ve lost market share to a competitor and need help. For other clients, our assignments are focused on making their successful projects even better.

Our clients at Kemper Development Corporation (KDC) are in the ‘make a good thing better’ category. A good example is the Hyatt Regency/Bellevue, located in KDC’s Bellevue Collection.

The Hyatt Regency/Bellevue is located in the epicenter of the Northwest’s booming Silicon Forest with both headquarters and offices of major tech players located nearby. With this project, KDC and Hyatt have positioned themselves to offer hospitality, conference and meeting services to the tech industry and the region.

We designed and developed a comprehensive Environmental graphics system that guides and directs guests and conference attendees to 733 guest rooms, and 60,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a private theater, and five ballrooms (second, third and fourth largest in the state).

The scope included exterior identification, custom directories and maps, wayfinding, room identification and specialty signage. MCD also designed the wayfinding and graphics for the multi-floor parking garage.

In addition to the Hyatt signage, we worked to seamlessly link the new project to the entire Bellevue Collection including: the existing Hyatt, Bellevue Place, Lincoln Square and Bellevue Square.

The three year long project required extensive design and Project Management by MCD, and coordination with enough team members to fill one of the exhibition halls: KDC team, Hyatt, Sclater Partners Architects, CREO Industrial Arts, GLY Construction, Susan Marinello Interiors, engineers, city officials and fabricators.

On October 15, the University of Washington unveiled a gift to the University from the Class of 1960, a seven-foot tall “W”.

The iconic bronze landmark is placed at Memorial Drive, the primary entrance to the UW campus. “The “W” fulfills a key part of our assignment for the UW: design elements that are welcoming and brand them as distinctive to the UW.” said Mike Courtney, creative director of Michael Courtney Design and member of the team that designed the landmark.

The UW Class of 1960 gathers in front of the W for a portrait.

Design

MCD recommended several ideas to use the newly adopted “W (brand)” and drew this thumbnail sketch in one of the meetings.

MCD designed the landmark as part of the comprehensive Environmental Graphics Master Plan for the Seattle campus. While evaluating the existing system, the team received several requests for a singular place or landmark, symbolic of and distinctive to the UW. Additionally, President Mark Emmert and others noted the desire for a strategically placed landmark for both brand recognition and photo opportunities, too.

“Each year, over 14 million people come onto the UW campus and travel to 300 buildings and dozens of key destinations. The new graphics program is designed to direct and inform them and to align with the UW brand.” said Mike Courtney, creative director of Michael Courtney Design. “Our assignment has been to design elements that are welcoming and brand them as distinctive to the UW and the “W” landmark donated by the Class of 1960 plays a key role.”

MCD was asked to develop the design and then develop an image to show it at Memorial Drive. After approval, the Class of 1960 stepped forward to donate the funds for the project.

Process

The drawings were  translated into technical documents by MCD, CREO and JMN Consulting Engineers. The fabricator (Plumb Signs) fabricated the “W” from silicon bronze sheets.

Installation at Memorial Drive, October 14^th and 15^th. The installation coincides with a redesign of the Memorial Way entrance by the UW, including new landscaping and cleaning the existing obelisks.

The dedication took place October 15^th as part of 2010 Homecoming Weekend.

Project team: University of Washington-client. Michael Courtney, Landon Fisher, Debra Burgess – MCD design team. Prefabrication consultation and coordination –CREO. Engineering – JMN Consulting Engineers, PLLC. Fabricator–Plumb Signs.

Links:

UW University Week

The Times of London recently recognized the University of Washington as the fourth best American public college In their higher education list, and 23rd best university in the world.
Link to the Times.

2200 opened in 2006 as an upscale, urban lifestyle and entertainment complex. In 2010, Michael Courtney Design was asked to revitalize the visual identity and develop a strategy to move visitors thru the complex. Our work involved everything from environmental graphics to developing a brand vocabulary. The Welcome message surrounded by city lights represents the spirit of the changes.

The mixed use project is adjacent to the new Amazon.com campus, nestled between downtown Seattle and the high tech South Lake Union neighborhood.

To differentiate the three distinct levels of the project and create a bigger visual  ‘kit of parts’, we used photos as colorful, iconic elements. The photos represent: Street Car (P3: Street Level), City Lights (Level 1: Plaza Level) and Bamboo (Level 2).

We redesigned the communication graphics in a clean contemporary style that speaks to the visitors, and makes updating easy for the client.

The “City Lights” photo became a unifying image and key part of the brand vocabulary. It’s a perfect fit for a complex set among city lights and bustling downtown energy.

To encourage visitors to move throughout the muiti-level site, we designed new directories and way finding signage.

The City Lights theme is underscored by Illuminated details integrated into the directory.

In the Garage, the first greeting is crucial for guests who arrive via car. We created new graphics to simplify the message and welcome visitors.

Each floor has its own distinctive color and simplified messaging to help visitors find their way.

2200 houses a luxury hotel (Pan Pacific Seattle), gourmet grocer (Whole Foods), restaurants (Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria, Sea Star Restaurant & Raw Bar, Starbucks), retailers, services and 261 private residences.

The project team: Vulcan, Inc., and fabricators CREO, Rainier Industries and Tube Art.
http://www.discoverslu.com/

PATH has matured quickly from a garage-based start-up to a recognized leader in global health. With a growing staff, the need for more space and the desire to be close to “peers and colleagues”, PATH has relocated to Seattle’s booming South Lake Union neighborhood. Michael Courtney Design (MCD) was commissioned to design a comprehensive environmental graphics program for the new location that captures the spirit of this entrepreneurial organization.

Collaborating with UNICEF, the World Health Organization, local groups and the private sector, PATH currently works in 70 countries “to improve the health of people around the world by advancing technologies, strengthening systems, and encouraging healthy behaviors.”

The new location places PATH among other world-class organizations: amazon.com, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, and University of Washington Medicine.

MCD’s role was to identify the new location, welcome and guide 350 team members through three floors of new space (30,000 sq. ft.) and create a Visitor Experience Master Plan to welcome and inform 2,000 visitors/year.

PATH Visitor Experience: in process.

Our goal: develop an authentic, true – to – the- organization Brand Vocabulary for the project. The design solution reflects the low-tech conditions PATH encounters in the field, the high tech research in their labs and the practical, site specific solutions PATH is known for producing.

Environmental Graphics material palette.

The project team: PATH, The Seneca Group (owners rep.), SkB Architects, Sellen, and fabricators Creo and Tube Art.

Links:
http://www.path.org
http://www.senecagroup.com/
http://www.skbarchitects.com/
http://www.discoverslu.com/

Mayor Greg Nickels and the Seattle Design Commission recognized five recent public projects that “exhibit superior design” and “foster interaction with the public and enhance Seattle neighborhoods” at a ceremony in Seattle’s City Hall. “The Woodland Park Zoo Penguin Exhibit is a fantastic example of integrative design…(and) …has lead to a design that goes well beyond showcasing the penguins, their environment and survival.”

MCD was present at the 12/03/09 event and we’re very pleased and honored to be recognized as one of the (many) team members.

Studio Hanson/Roberts designed the exhibit. MCD developed the graphic design for the project.

http://woodlandparkzblog.blogspot.com/

SEATTLE DESIGN COMMISSION RECOGNIZES PUBLIC PROJECTS

Mayor Greg Nickels will join the Seattle Design Commission to recognize five recent public projects that exhibit superior design. The projects include a public park, a master plan, infrastructure improvements, and a new zoo exhibit. The Seattle Design Commission presents the awards for design excellence every two years after reviewing public projects that foster interaction with the public and enhance Seattle neighborhoods*. Five projects in total are being honored.

Woodland Park Zoo Humboldt Penguin Exhibit

“The Woodland Park Zoo Penguin Exhibit is a fantastic example of integrative design. Adherence to a comprehensive, well-defined scope and a vigorous process has lead to a design that goes well beyond showcasing the penguins, their environment and survival. The project achieves a new benchmark of impressive sustainability and multicultural educational objectives and includes the capacity for on- going monitoring and adjustment. The exhibit’s low-key attitude and careful attention to design fit strengthens a significant entrance to the zoo and reinforces the overall legibility of its environment.”

(From the City of Seattle and Seattle Design Commission Press Release)

*Past recipients include: distinctive civic and cultural projects and parks, buildings and spaces throughout Seattle including the Seattle Central Library (Rem Koolhaas, Office of Metropolitan Architecture; LMN Architects); Olympic Sculpture Park  (Weiss/Manfredi Architects; Charles Anderson Landscape Architecture) and Fremont Peak Park (GGLO).

Though we’re known for our business-savvy solutions, sometimes a project comes along that is just plain fun.  Our latest? The penguin exhibit at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. Info and photos after the jump.

Though we’re known for our business-savvy solutions, sometimes a project comes along that is just plain fun.  Our latest? The Humbolt penguin exhibit at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo.

The Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ) recently gave a serious makeover to the 62-year old exhibit, which had originally been designed for seals and sea lions. We were honored to join a stellar team that included WPZ specialists and the exhibit designers: Studio Hanson/Roberts.

The new, $6.5 million, 17,000 sq. ft. outdoor exhibit presents an authentic view of the rugged, arid coastline of Peru, home to the penguins.

Our job? To create environmental graphics to make visitors feel they’d stepped into the Peruvian fishing village of Punta San Juan, at the largest Humboldt penguin conservation zone in the world.

We developed Peruvian-style graphics and applied them to murals, gates and other graphic elements to greet, inform, and persuade visitors they were in a remote village in South America. We used the same graphic style to develop donor recognition materials for partners and friends of the project. And in a proud first for our studio, we designed a graphic celebrating the merits of guano.

The real star of the show: the penguins. Visitors watch thru large walls of glass as the birds swim and dive. “The birds enjoy the public. They like to look (back) at them through the glass,” said a zoo keeper. “They like little kids with shiny shoes and sunglasses and fast-moving hands.”

http://www.zoo.org/penguins/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBYc_aO14jU&feature=fvsr

Project Team:

Woodland Park Zoo (Scott Vance, interpretive exhibit specialist: Monica Lake, project manager); Studio Hanson/Roberts (Becca Hanson and Jim McDonough – exhibit design); Dillion Works (fabricator of the graphic elements).

To listen to the broadcast click link: CBC Early Edition Clip

Link to the Early Edition’s site.
http://www.cbc.ca/earlyedition/