Title
DDA Proceeds with Wayfinding Signage System
Memorandum
Last summer the DDA provided City Council with a report on its work developing a comprehensive wayfinding project that will make it easier for visitors to find their way to downtown and to their chosen downtown destination. This memo is an update on the DDA’s progress on this project.
As mentioned in the earlier memo, Corbin Design Company was selected to design the wayfinding system for Ann Arbor, based in part on their extensive experience developing comparable systems for several dozens of other municipalities, including other college towns. Over the past year or so, a Project Advisory Committee met several times and numerous focus groups and community meetings were held to elicit public feedback on the sign design, as this is the most visible element of the project. From this feedback a semi-final design array was presented to the DDA board at its September 2007 meeting.
At that time members of the local design community asked the DDA to be allowed the opportunity to provide additional feedback on this sign design. The DDA agreed and tabled the project to enable this group time to develop their comments. This group held a general meeting with approximately a dozen design professionals in attendance, and then a design charette where several draft sign designs were created. These sign designs were then placed on a local blog and at the downtown library for public feedback and comment. At the end of their work, a representative of the design community presented a recommended design concept to the DDA at their November board meeting to illustrate their recommendation to the DDA that it focus on a design that doesn’t attempt to “brand” downtown Ann Arbor, but rather, is a design that is clean, simple, and attractive.
The DDA was very grateful for this help, as the design community provided fresh insight into how the project could meet its goals. The DDA Research and Opportunity Co...
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