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
When car users become pedestrians again..
After developing a comprehensive new signage strategy & design manual for all the city of Luxembourg’s car parks (almost 20 different structures), Fort Neipperg, the first renovated car park has now opened to the public with our implemented design strategy.
Our user-focused approach has been to establish a clear hierarchy of the information and to prioritise on the more vulnerable, pedestrian user ( the driver / user outside the car). We separated the signage system for drivers & pedestrians for clarity and reduced the graphic interventions & colours to a strategic minimum to maximise their effectiveness. Our main aim was to make the perception of the space and the navigation within the space as intuitive as possible.
Floor level information consists of a range of carefully selected bright colours, in conjunction with illustrations and large scale numerals. They are only indicated on the exit stairs bloc, creating an intuitive ‘visual pull’ towards them.
Client: Ville de Luxembourg, Service Ouvrages d’Art, Génie Civil, Constructions
Concept & design strategy: WW+ Architektur & Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy
Graphic design: Laurent Daubach
Illustrations: Linda Bos
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In collaboration with Luxembourg based architects WW+ we have been commissioned by the city of Luxembourg – Service Ouvrages d’Art, Génie Civil, Constructions – to develop a signage concept & design manual to implement a comprehensive new signage system across potentially 15 public parkings owned by the city ( starting with the parkings Knuedler & Neipperg). A challenging task considering that the buildings have very different layouts and circulation principles.
Our user-focused approach has been to establish a clear hierarchy of the information and to prioritise on the, more vulnerable, pedestrian user ( the driver / user outside the car). We separated the signage system for drivers & pedestrians for clarity and reduced the graphic interventions & colours to a strategic minimum to maximise their effectiveness. Our main aim was to make the spacial perception and the navigation within the space as intuitive as possible.
Floor level information consists of a range of carefully selected bright colours, in conjunction with illustrations and large scale numerals. They are only indicated on the exit stairs bloc, creating an intuitive ‘visual pull’ towards them.
Graphic design: Laurent Daubach
Hartlepool shows the way
Very robust and beautifully simple coastal path signage between Hartlepool Headland and Crimdon Dene, North East England
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
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.
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!
Manufacturing pride
While driving through the Burgundy region in France I came across this beautiful old factory building in the small town of Génelard.
I really liked the confident, almost out of scale, presence of the signage on the building. On top of that the signage is not an after-thought but completely integrated into the architecture. Compared to many of today’s undistinguished manufacturing halls it also tells the story of an admirable industrial pride.
Chez Jeannette
The more you can do with LED technology the keener I get of the old fashioned neon sign aesthetics. I saw this great neon sign in Paris above the bar of the Café Jeannette, rue du faubourg Saint Denis. I very much like the way it extends into an architectural feature delineating the space of the bar and not limiting itself to just be a sign.
It also made me think of the great Kraftwerk song ‘Neon Lights’:
Shimmering neon lights
And at the fall of night
This city’s made of light…
No design sign
When you walk around city centres you have to wonder if we need all that signage and graphic design. Often too slick, too loud and too perfect, over-designed corporate identities and graphics take away the human side of things. Maybe there are too many designers around that need to find work (and not enough courageous businesses).
Accidental map
Within the chaos of one of the many Brussels train stations I found India (and I wasn’t the first one)
- Map of India
Schiphol airport signage
It doesn’t take much and you would miss your plane if you wouldn’t have this information. Even so, it is amazing to see how many airports don’t include the required walking time to get to the gate.
Making our cities more child friendly
Brussels pedestrian crossing. Another example of the low budget yet convincing Belgian way.
Georges Zigrand Design Consultancy 
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