The Society for Experiential Design will hold an international virtual event, “Wayfinding + Placemaking NOW,” dedicated to wayfinding and placemaking design strategies that help us feel welcomed and safe as global emergencies— from the pandemic, to economic volatility and the climate crisis—provoke widespread anxiety. This two-day event on Sept. 17-18 will include presentations, mini-workshops, virtual tours and moderated roundtable conversations with public policy experts and award-winning experiential designers.
“In the past six months, public spaces have become challenging to design, manage, and reopen in so many ways,” says SEGD CEO Cybelle Jones (pictured right). Questions abound: Is it safe to visit? Alone or in groups? Do we feel welcome? Are they clean? “Wayfinding and placemaking solutions need to extend beyond creating navigable and compelling spaces to provide greater safety, security, and peace of mind for users.” SEGD’s two-day event will foster dialogues on designing public spaces that feel safe and welcoming amid the current global turmoil.
Sponsors for Wayfinding + Placemaking NOW are Color-Ad, fabricators of signage and innovative exhibitions; SignAgent, cloud-based wayfinding and signage project management software; DCL, world class fabricators of custom solutions; DE Powder Coated Graphics, a division of MS Signs, Inc; Image Manufacturing Group, builders of products that enhance environments; Welch Sign, improving places with innovative signage and brand solutions; and Urban Sign, a national leader in architectural sign fabrication.
In this moment, designers are being called on to re-imagine public spaces, and present solutions for engaging and connecting to the places that surround us. W+P Now will include thought-provoking sessions, tours, and global conversations, including the following:
Thursday, Sept. 17
Tour: Pentagram Partner, Paula Scher, will kick things off with a virtual tour of the re-opened New York City’s High Line.
Keynote: Manuel Miranda, founder of New York City’s Manuel Miranda Practice and commissioner with the New York City Public Design Commission, will deliver the first keynote, “Identity and Place,” and address designing with a clear voice to advocate for social and behavioral change.
Global Presentations And Roundtable: fresh approaches to inclusion and universal design
• Nick Kapica, Principal at Isthmus (Wellington, New Zealand)
• Paul Tabouré and Charlie Bromley, founder and executive creative director, and head of environments, respectively at THERE (Sydney)
• Baarish Date, co-founder of Graphics Beyond (Mumbai)
• Mohammed Jogie, designer and strategist with Morning Star Design
• Moderator: Despina Macris, SEGD Board member, event co-chair and director of DotDash (Brisbane, Australia)
Friday, Sept. 18
Keynote: Dr. Mindy Fullilove, a social psychiatrist, author, and professor at Parsons New School (New York) who focuses on the ways social and environmental factors affect the mental health of communities, will address new health and safety considerations, new forms of etiquette, and new ways of connecting to one another in the context of public spaces.
Global Presentations & Roundtable: perspectives on the evolving market demand for experiences
• Inguna Elere, and Dagnija Balode, co-founder and chief designer, and chief business officer, respectively, of Design Studio H2E (Riga, Latvia)
• Sherwood Choe, manager with YiEUM Partners (Seoul)
• Jose Allard, principal with Wayfinding, and Rodrigo Ramirez, director of the Design School at Pontificia Universidad Católica (Santiago, Chile)
• Moderator: SEGD CEO, Cybelle Jones (Washington)
Workshop: Jemma Radick, event co-chair and senior associate with Populous Activate (Kansas City) will lead a mini-workshop where participants will be challenged to collaborate and propose solutions using to a current pressing problem.
The Society for Experiential Graphic Design is the multidisciplinary, global community of professionals who create experiences that connect people to place. For more info or to register, visit www.segd.org or follow them at #segdwayfinding #segdplacemaking #wayfinding #placemaking.
