Americaʼs cities and institutions are entering a period of significant change and evolution. People are rediscovering the city center and are now expecting a widening list of services and a higher caliber of signage and wayfinding to match. While many factors contribute to the success of a civic environment, the role of effective wayfinding, signage and graphics cannot be underestimated.

From downtown districts, gateway entries and directional sign systems, to expansive convention centers, expressive public service offerings and law enforcement facilities, they all require an exhaustive set of unique graphic requirements to ensure their success.

Cities can employ the same techniques used by products and corporations to build a stronger civic personality and better reflect a cityʼs image to visitors and residents alike. The goal is to create an enhanced sense of place for each by identifying, differentiating, consensus building and reinforcing the primary function of each through understanding the unique visitor expectations.

One Cityʼs new sign program might include monument signs identifying the Civic Center and civic buildings and pedestrian directional and directory maps to direct visitors within the Civic Center. Another might call for a dramatic new gateway placed at its entrance to greet visitors and create a bold welcome. Yet another system may need to help visitors find civic landmarks and shopping destinations by using an existing identity to reinforce the City’s brand throughout the city. And more intimate solutions are often required for specific sites and facilities – they might include donor recognition walls, maps, etc.

Expressive, appropriate and strategic signage solutions are a valuable addition to the community. By enhancing a cityʼs positive public image, distinctive wayfinding signage can make a city and institution ever more user-friendly to visitors, residents and local employees. Implementing an innovative civic brand strategy can create a more dynamic sense of place.

Hunt Design helps civic and institutional places serve the public with efficiency and dignity through effective wayfinding and signage programs.

Our services for civic & institutional include

• Signage programs
• Signage master plans
• Wayfinding
• Maps and directories

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Representative Projects
Anaheim Convention Center
Antelope Valley Courthouse
Edmund D. Edelman Children’s Court
Fontana Civic Center
KABC7 Studios
LA Co Sheriff-Biscailuz Regional Training Center
Las Vegas Convention Center
Pasadena City Hall
Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA
Regional Justice Center
Brea Civic Center
Culver City Hall
Naval Base Coronado Coastal Campus
Oxnard Civic Center
Pasadena Convention Center
RTC Bus Terminal, Las Vegas
Santa Clara Family Justice Center
Sahara DMV