SEGD 2010 No. 27 - 35

comprehensive sign system was one of the ﬁrst projects undertaken as part of the initiative. “The need to improve wayﬁnding and signage on the National Mall has been recognized for a long time,” says Jennifer Talken-Spaulding, cultural resources program manager for the park. “Every time I see a family standing on the corner of 15th and Constitution, with every person pointing in a different direction, I want to pull over and say, ‘We’re going to help you!’” The Park Service hired Hunt Design (Pasadena, Calif.) to design a system that would improve pedestrian circulation, guide visitors to major destinations, identify monuments and sites, simplify the presentation of rules and regulations governing park use, and reduce sign clutter. Planning began in late 2007 and the ﬁrst of about 300 new signs will be installed this spring. “A completed work of civic art” While America’s Front Yard is owned by the people of the United States, it is closely monitored and protected through the efforts of various federal agencies and public and private advocacy groups, most notably the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission. The CFA advises the federal and D.C. governments on design and aesthetics “…as they effect the Federal interest and preserve the dignity of the nation’s capital.” In other words, any new signage must be approved by the CFA. In addition, the NCPC (the federal government’s planning agency for the National Capital Region), the State Historic Preservation Ofﬁce, the Trust for the National Mall (the NPS’ funding partner for the signage project), the Smithsonian Institution museums nearby, the D.C. Business Improvement District, and many other agencies provided input based on their own missions and agenda. “Managing expectations and trying to determine how we could accommodate them, or not, was a major challenge,” says Spaulding. Gaining CFA approval was a tall order, requiring iterative design reviews over a period of two years. “The feeling is that the National Mall has become cluttered over the last 100 years, and that it is ‘a completed work of civic art,’” says Wayne Hunt, principal of Hunt Design. “Many people in Washington think, ‘Why do we need signs?’ It’s obvious that the Washington Monument is the Washington Monument.’” There is an inherent tension between local familiarity and the need to communicate with people who may be visiting the National Mall only once in their lifetime, Hunt continues. “You have some very caring caretakers of this property, and they take their jobs seriously. But they’re not thinking of the Italian tourist looking for a restroom or the elderly visitor who can’t ﬁnd water on a dangerously hot day. It’s a very complex environment with difﬁcult circulation and spatial issues. Visitors need information.” Below: New maps depict the landscape in a birds-eye perspective that emphasizes major destinations. Because maps are most effective when oriented to the direction users are facing, it will be provided in both north- and south-facing versions. Bottom: Because visitors enter the site from more than 60 places, Hunt Design developed a perimeter of 47 welcoming maps in low wayside and upright format, with a larger double-sided kiosk planned for outside the Smithsonian Metro station. segdDESIGN 35

SEGD 2010 No. 27

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEGD 2010 No. 27