Published Art / Sign system

At the very beginning of 2007, we have started working on an experimental/flexible sign system design proposal for the specialised design bookstore Published Art, located in Surry Hills, Sydney.

The entire sign system was named ‘I am informative’. This is a sign system design that aims to solve the communication problems in the store that are operated only by a single staff person which, in this case, is the situation of Published Art. Sharon, the sole owner of the store, enjoys sharing her understanding on titles available to customers as according to what they are interested in. However, difficulty in verbal communication occurs when there is more than one customer in the store.

According to the specific style and characteristics of the site, the design execution of the system will appear to achieve harmony with the existing environment. Therefore, in this case, this particular proposal incorporates the ‘x’ of the store’s existing graphic identity, the layered heritage of the site location and the idea of highlighting in books that formed the conceptual framework.

We have to address here that this specific sign system design is not to replace the friendly greetings and recommendations from Sharon but to assist the way she has been communicating with customers in a supportive role.

We have also created an A0 size poster to document the study:

The poster is perhaps the only printed (on paper) component of the sign system design.
It aims to communicate and further explain the idea and the conceptual thinking behind the entire case study. Illustrative, 2-Dimentional appearance of the signages have been incorporated into the design along with abstract images documenting the sign system functioning in context.
We have approached the typographical layout of the poster in a visual representation of the concept where the signs and messages are being flexibly arranged and displayed within the bookstore.

The Typeface
Custom type and typographic treatment have been developed specifically for this sign system proposal. The forms and shapes of the crafted type were based on the principal typeface ISO NORM. Through referencing features of the space’s existing identity, characteristics such as the ‘x’ and stencil-like elements have been kept then further developed into a set of alphabets. To us, in the final solution we have successfully maintained a balance between graphic experimentation and communications, which also works harmonically with the existing brand identity and overall aesthetics with the sign themselves.

The Messages
Throughout the project, we have work together with the sole owner of the bookstore to develop a series of messages which will functions generally for a bookstore as well as establishing a closer relationship between the sign system, the store and herself.
You can see in the following all the messages we have created:

We would like to thank Sharon Tredinnick at Published Art in particular for her generous help throughout the development of this sign system project. In case you are wondering about those objects, they were actually handmade by ourselves as prototype. We did, however, outsourced the anodizing, cnc routing and laser cutting processes.

*Note: We did not work on the graphic identity of Published Art.

UNSW / Complimentary object

At around mid 2006, we were invited by the University of New South Wales to design a special object as a gift for research graduates & VIP visitors. Shown below is the final proposal includes two anodized aluminium versions & a silver plated version.

Shown above are the black anodized version and charcoal anodized version accordingly.
Object dimensions: 45×45x125mm

You can click here to see a raw aluminium piece.
This piece was going to be one of the final prototype. However, due to an avoidable mistake made by ourselves, it has now become a piece of documentation of this project.
(note: all objects are handcrafted with careful measurement and metal working skills.)

The designed object comes with a supplementary card printed with the concept statement on the inside.
Opposite to the printed page is a non-printed area for personalised message when presenting to selected personals.

Card size: 160×78mm (1-fold)
Click for more details.

The following is how we look at this unique piece of object design:

Knowledge, the learning outcome. Learning is a lifetime process; acquired knowledge represents gaining experience, professional confidence and skills. During the learning process in university, knowledge is absorbed by individuals incrementally. In response to this process, an object is designed to record one stage of life’s learning. This object express visually the layering of knowledge, accumulated during a specific period of time - in this case, the time spent at the university undertaking post graduate studies.  The abstraction of the four letters of the university’s name are linked and layered mark the completion of this period of learning.

We would like to thank Wendy Parker & Liz Williamson in particular for organising everything relating to this project.