Signage & street furniture design
After developing a comprehensive urban signage and wayfinding concept for the Kirchberg area in Luxembourg-city, the scheme has now been implemented at all strategic locations & tram stations across the area.
The graphics, information and city map have been developed in compliance with stringent future accessibility guidelines and go way beyond the standards in terms of contrast and readability requirements.
The implementation and future changes of the map can be done independently by the client within their existing IT capabilities to ensure the high level of adaptations required for a fast changing urban area.
The overall concept consists of a system of bespoke designed elements, adapted to different urban scales and their context. The illustrated Morris column type street furniture is also bespoke and build in mostly untreated aluminium to enable the recycling of the raw material without additional treatments.
Client: Fonds Kirchberg, Luxembourg
Concept & design strategy: Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy
Graphic design: Laurent Daubach, Designbureau
Cast bronze signage
We have designed a new signage system to label the public space Art collection of the City of Luxembourg. The new system is based on a circular bronze cast that is mounted flush into the ground. The circular format allows for a much more flexible and non-aligned positioning in space, to fine-tune and orientate the information within pavings and to respond to often complex spatial environments. We wanted the signs to be visible enough for the urban stroller while not being too visible in the urban space. The Art collection being from different periods over the last 80 years our aim was also to make it look and feel like it has always been there, reflected in this traditional technique often used in public Art.
For the installation, only standard tools are required, using a common core drill with a standard width for fast and efficient implementation. Last but not least, the new signage is also reducing maintenance and de-cluttering the urban space.
Concept & product design: Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy
Graphics: Laurent Daubach / Designbureau
Client: Ville de Luxembourg, Coordination Culturelle
Castings: Fonderie Massard
You are here
After developing a comprehensive wayfinding concept for the Kirchberg area in Luxembourg-city, and a prototype at the Central Parc, we have now rolled-out the first module of our system at the Place de l’Europe. The overall concept consists of a family of modules adapted to different urban scales and their context. The implementation of the signage system across the area is planned over the coming 12 months.
Graphics, text and city map have been developed in compliance with stringent future accessibility guidelines and go way beyond the standards in terms of contrast and readability requirements.
Any future changes of the map can be done independently by the client within their existing IT capabilities to ensure the high level of adaptations required for a fast changing urban area.
Client: Fonds Kirchberg
Concept & design strategy: Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy
Graphic design: Laurent Daubach, Designbureau
Wiedersehen macht Freude
My deckchairs, fitted with a custom designed fabric which shows all the colours of the 28 EU member state flags proportionally ( see post ‘Work hard, play hard’ ), have re-surfaced this summer in the old town of Luxembourg City. A year after the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Council they have been distributed to several city centre sites and used as public space furniture over the summer months.
Unfortunately we might have to take some classic blue, red & white out for next year.
Graphics: Laurent Daubach
Back to the stone age
The national heritage agency in Luxembourg (Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux ) has asked me to design & develop a bespoke information panel system for two distinct archeological sites. Both sites are unsupervised, which required a simple and robust solution against weathering effects and vandalism.
The steel support structures have been designed as light & unobstrusive as possible to integrate them visually into the sensitive archeological sites.
The information panels are manufactured in the northern Vosges region in France, famous for its glass manufacturing tradition. The panels are made from vitreous enamel in one of the only remaining vitreous enamel factories in Europe. This traditional technique, where the graphics are silkscreened on low carbon steel and fired at up to 850 C°, is extremly hard-wearing, UV stable and weathering proof.
Client: SSMN (Service des Sites et Monuments Nationaux)
En collaboration avec le CNRA (Centre National de Recherche Archéologique)
Graphic design: Arnaud Mouriamé
Brutal but true
The slogan across the facade of this church in Dieuze, northern France reads ‘vous aurez toujours des pauvres parmi vous’, which roughly translats as ‘you will always have poor people among yourselves’. That has for me more then one meaning and is brutally true..
The intricate relief sculpture is also fairly brutal, but fantastic at the same time. Also interesting is the fact that an artist ( Paul Gaudin, 1958) has been able to shape the main appearance of the building with his relief and glass design, and not an architect.
Knockin’ on heaven’s door
Star-shaped entrance door of a village church in Luxembourg. I really like the way the star-shaped pattern is radiating outwards from the central metal fitting, using a fairly simple profile of wooden boards. Almost psychedelic…
Hartlepool shows the way
Very robust and beautifully simple coastal path signage between Hartlepool Headland and Crimdon Dene, North East England
Lego style outdoor furniture for the almost grown-ups
Conventional tables and chairs wouldn’t have worked that well for the terrasse of my local hangout. The cultural centre Carrérotondes in Luxembourg, with its concerts, exhibitions, kids theatres and parties required a flexible way of sitting (and drinking). The Lego principle gives plenty of options on how to configure the modules, leaving it up to the user and the moment to choose how to use them.
Materials: Custom designed male & female rubber connectors combined with water resistant low-cost plywood.
Photo © Sven Becker
Outdoor furniture – extra bold
Designed for outdoor spaces like nature reserves, parks & forests, this seating range is composed of large & chunky shapes with very simple profiles. The large – single piece – wood parts are made from locally sourced oak trunks with a simply sawn finish to resist weathering and vandalism. Due to its thickness, the wood can be sanded down if damaged but can also happily live with the added texture.
The wood profiles and tubular powder coated steel tubes are both an integral part of the structure and form objects with a strong visual contrast between natural and man made materials. The simple & sculptural shapes should integrate well in natural environments, yet stand out enough to be noticed for its quality.
Have a seat and enjoy
The City of Luxembourg commissioned us to develop an furniture and colour guidance manual for the terrasses on one of it’s most prestigious squares in the city centre. After many years of wild west behavior of the restaurants and cafés, using mostly cheap looking plastic furniture, branded umbrellas, primary colours and endless clutter the city wanted to clean up.
The new scheme, involving a selection of muted colours and more attractive furniture typologies has now been implemented, giving the square a more dignified and calm appearance while focusing on the quality of the space, the trees and the architecture.
One of press critics wrote at the time that we want to take colour and life out of the City, thankfully the chap in his all red training outfit plus hat has turned-up on my photo (on the right) to prove that it is not furniture & umbrellas that are creating a colourful city life!
Fair games
Just finished a signage & wayfinding project for the Olympic Games of the Small Nations of Europe, held in Luxembourg this year. Very refreshing to work on a fast and short term project for a change. In collaboration with Luxembourg based Designbureau. Client: Comité Olympique et Sportif Luxembourgeois
Ingenious low budget playground
A resourceful approach to create a playground in Corfu… and I bet it ticks all the boxes of safety standards too!
A new bus shelter for Luxembourg-city
Based on an existing JCD shelter designed by Norman Foster we fine-tuned & adapted the design in collaboration with the city and JCD to better fit todays user needs. Over 250 shelters will be installed / replaced the next couple of years across the city’s bus network.
With a user-centered approach the team developed a new back-lit independent totem that regroups a number of information that is easy to read, even from a distance. The same logic applies to the glass panel on the opposite side where we also re-grouped passenger information usually spread randomly all over the shelter.
Paris bashing
It is well known that the bistro culture in Paris is a league on its own, sitting tightly packed on street corners, coffee & cigarettes, waiters that don’t care, gazing at the people passing by …
The typical Paris bistro table with a single foot and an oversized thin metal edging embodies this way of life quite well for me. Every bash and knock the metal edging gets adds character & texture to the table, making it age gracefully without aspiring to be perfect.
Cheap & cheerful
Creating a street stall for a one day event to sell hand made scarves from Bangladesh is not my usual design brief, especially if the budget had to be kept at an absolute minimum. But there is always a way, even if it means going to the DIY shop..
Scarves designed by Luxembourgish designer Anne-Marie Herckes with the assistance of the Vocational Training and Employment Generation Project of the NGO ‘Friendship’.
Eau de Luxembourg
This water drinking fountain is the first of many to be installed in the City of Luxembourg. The scheme was initiated by the city’s own Service des Eaux and elaborated in close collaboration with the City Management, other administrations of the city and myself as an external design consultant.
After an in-depth research of existing drinking fountains across Europe we have identified this fountain as the most suitable product for Luxembourg. The fountain has initially been developed by the french designer Cécile Planchais for Eau de Paris and will also be rolled-out in Paris next year.
Besides the functional & hygienic qualities its subtle timeless design has convinced us to be the right choice for Luxembourg. The textured surface and distinctive shape blurs the boundaries of time, making it contemporary but also fit nicely in an heritage environment. Also, after two days in use in the city the form and shape has proven that its function and purpose is self-explanatory.
Pondicherry shows the way
Some years ago I took this photo in the city of Pondicherry, India. Amazingly low-tech this hand-painted and sculptural road sign shows the way, also by its expressive and truly functional shape. Love it!
Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy 
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