(DIIS) Wayfinding System
Industry
Education
Design Innovation Institute Shanghai
Agency
2x4
Role: Designer
- Created the full icon set through fabrication-ready delivery
- Designed interior wayfinding system from design through fabrication-ready delivery, including graphic guidelines, floor index, floor number, room directional, room ID, and icon signages
Project Context
Design Innovation Institute Shanghai (DIIS) is a new, nonprofit, high-level 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
To create one cohesive wayfinding system that could align with the brand identity while respecting the distinct architectural character of two campuses: the historic Lester Building, with Gothic Revival and Art Deco influences, and a newer, more modern campus.
Solution
We drew inspiration from Art Deco architectural details to create the full iconography, using a light, white, translucent expression that could sit naturally in modern spaces.
With its elegant linear icons and neon-like lighting treatment, the system creates a bridge between the historical and contemporary architecture, bringing the two campuses into one unified visual experience. 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 Director:
Celine Fu, Jing Xin
Designer:
Yating Liu, Xiaoyu Ma
Environmental Designer:
Jing Li
Strategy
Iconography
I created a full icon set inspired by heritage architectural motifs
Interior Signage
I led interior signage design part through fabrication-ready file handoff
Fabrication & Structure
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Digital Experience | Environmental Graphics