expertise

Our approach to creating legible systems was best coined by Jane Jacobs: ‘never forget that people make cities, and it is to them, not buildings that we must fit our plans.’

Our core expertise is translating instinctive curiosity into a memorable experience. We do this by creating confidence. Behaviour is often restricted by the opposite, uncertainty. For the visitor, uncertainty means getting lost or losing time. For the manager of the environment it results in a stack of ad-hoc short-term solutions that do not perform.

To solve this, we choreograph all the touch points and sensory cues that influence movement and journey decisions. We create information systems as a ‘choice architecture’ for nudging decisions, broadening horizons and enriching experiences.

We help place, city and transport managers see the value in systems that can deliver customer benefit, adapt to change and support partnerships over the long term. As a result, our solutions evolve as the environment expands. Our projects last and adapt rather than degrade and become outdated.

Legible London reversed a trend of less walking, setting an international standard for city wayfinding
Google’s wayfinding system is devised to deliver rapid growth with intelligence
We are piecing together disparate transport systems in Toronto to make sense of $50bn of investment
A distinctive and legible environment not only offers security but also heightens the potential depth and intensity of human experience.
Kevin Lynch
Founder of the field, 1960

services

Research & analysis

Experience and instinct can uncover 70% of your challenge. We do the groundwork to uncover the other 30%. 

  • User flow modelling
  • Usability research
  • Data analytics
  • User surveys
  • Location auditing
  • Focus groups
  • Legibility indexing
Strategy

Our dedicated planning team has backgrounds in design, architecture, urban planning, and transport engineering.

  • Wayfinding strategy
  • Wayfinding master planning
  • System architecture
  • Naming strategy
  • Innovation
  • Implementation programming
  • Cost modelling
Consensus building

The result is only as good as what can be agreed, built, and maintained. And this takes involvement from many parties at the same time.

  • Scoping studies
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Public engagement
  • Peer reviews
  • Business cases
  • Exhibitions and publications
  • Long-term vision pieces
  • Communication campaigns
  • Implementation roadmaps
Planning & design

We are a multi-disciplinary design studio made up of people who have worked together for years.

  • Information planning
  • Location survey and planning
  • Information design
  • Environmental graphic design
  • Mapping design, cartography and GIS
  • Content authoring
  • Product design
  • Experience design
  • Digital design
  • Inclusive design
  • Accessible design
  • BIM, Revit and 3D visualisation
  • UX/UI design
  • Design intent
Implementation

We’ll see things through to the end. But we also know that the end is only the beginning of a successfully maintained system.

  • Prototyping
  • Tender packages
  • Content schedules 
  • Systemisation
  • Standards documentation
  • Mapping systems management
  • Artworking
  • Artwork production training
  • Digital implementation
  • Digital units
  • Sign production & site QC
  • Management set-up
  • Management Services
  • Post-installation evaluation