(DIIS) Wayfinding System
Industry
Education
Design Innovation Institute Shanghai
Agency
2x4
Role
- Owned the full icon design from concept to fabrication-ready delivery
- Led interior wayfinding system from design through fabrication-ready delivery, including graphic guideline, floor index, floor number, room directional, room ID and icon signages
Project Context
Design Innovation Institute Shanghai (DIIS) is a new, nonprofit, high level research institution dedicated to advancing world class design innovation and its real world transformation. It is housed in a landmark originally built in 1934 as the Lester Institute of Technical Education, whose architecture blends Gothic Revival and Art Deco influences. 2x4 Beijing team designed a comprehensive environmental wayfinding system for DIIS that respects the site’s architectural character while reflecting the institute’s mission and visual identity, bringing a distinct contemporary, human centered sensibility to a campus reborn from a historic building.
Challenge
Create one cohesive signage language across both contexts. The system had to balance legibility, scalability, and architectural sensitivity, drawing cues from the heritage setting while using a light, white, translucent expression that remains consistent in modern spaces.
Team
Creative Direction:
Celine Fu, Jing Xin
Graphic Design:
Yating Liu, Xiaoyu Ma
Environmental Design:
Jing Li
Iconography
I created a full icon set inspired by heritage architectural motifs
Interior Signage
I created interior signage design through fabrication-ready file handoff
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