Bright, stimulating and creative signage welcomes international students to the brand new state-of-the-art INTO University of East Anglia.
The new INTO UEA campus has recently opened its doors to a brand new intake of international students who will be studying pre-university courses and undertaking English Language training. The 1.3 acre site, which offers 700 teaching spaces and accommodation for 415 students, has been designed to provide a social, innovative and inspiring environment, with the highest levels of personal care and support.
To achieve this relaxed and calm environment, INTO enlisted the expertise of Signbox. The brief was to create a user friendly signage system that would help students to comfortably navigate their way throughout both teaching and residential areas.
By working closely with INTO’s design team Signbox was able to interpret their ideas and develop them into specifications that met the desired requirements. The first phase of the project was the creation of a vibrant internal signage scheme: this took priority over the external signage due to the tight timescale leading up to the official opening.
To create a friendly welcome for both students and staff within the atrium area, Signbox utilised bright orange environmental graphics on a curved wall, displaying the campus logo. The effect embraces the students within a comfortable seating area which immediately puts them at ease.
So that students can quickly recognise the different areas of the building and locate which floor they are on, Signbox proposed a colour coded system which integrated with the rest of the décor, for example, a coloured door sign to theme with the floor. This was achieved using elements of the INTO logo in large format providing a colourful background for wayfinding decision points. Floor plans and images were then digitally printed on the reverse of acrylic panels button-fixed within the coloured area.
In areas where information changes on a regular basis, Signbox used their Modular Sign System, an elegant, robust and flexible solution which featured extruded interchangeable aluminium profiles.
To animate internal areas and introduce a fun element to the signs, Signbox utilised a range large format graphics including a knife and fork for the cafe area, into the wayfinding scheme.
As a way of helping to separate the residential block from the teaching block, INTO asked Signbox to explore different mediums but maintain the colour scheme. To create a more casual environment, Signbox again used fret cut lettering for a reserved effect which is visually appealing and subtly helps students with their English.
To meet the tight deadline for the start of term, Signbox completed the manufacturing of all the signs within three weeks. The second phase of the project for external signage is now under way and is due for completion in November.
