News.

On Friday, January 30, 2015 the rich aromas of slow cooking meats and spices took over our offices for the eighth year in a row. This year we had seven brave competitors fight to the chili death with their homemade concoctions. With meats ranging from tri-tip or turkey and bacon to chopped chicken or ground beef, our taste buds were up for a difficult challenge of voting for our favorite.

After fighting the urge to break into the crock pots all morning, we tore ourselves away from projects to congregate next door in our new conference room at noon. Armed with shredded cheese and sharpened voting pencils, our team dutifully tasted each masterpiece, then went back for seconds (and thirds… and fourths).

Last month the Boy Scouts of America held the 2013 National Jamboree at the new Summit Bechtel Reserve site.  Nearly 40,000 scouts, leaders, volunteers and visitors visited the high adventure site for the 10-day event.   The RSM team worked on all of the signage for the 10,000 acre site for the past several years and this is the beginning of the implementation for the many different signage components of the project.

The team worked on all of the permanent site signage and also the temporary signage for the 10-day event.  Check out the photos below that are both from our trip to the Summit Bechtel Reserve BSA Jamboree 2013 and from the visitors perspective.

The Collection at Riverpark is a 650,000 square foot, open-air, specialty retail center located in the heart of West Ventura County. Inspired by the beauty of the California coast The Collection’s public art program includes commissioned works from LA Basin’s best local artists. Frank Romero, Michael Amescua, Susan Stinsmuehlen-Amend, Frank Bauer and Peter Shire are among the contributors. Shea Properties has produced a series of videos depicting several pieces designed by RSM. Click here to learn more

This video is a stop-motion vignette of RSM Design’s, ‘Glass Reed Tower Feature,’ installed at The Collection at Riverpark. Produced, directed, edited and scored by Logan Muszynski.

This video is a stop-motion vignette of RSM Design’s, ‘Channel Islands Mural,’ installed at The Collection at Riverpark. Painted by The Walldogs.net.

The 2013 winners were announced June 8 during an awards celebration at the SEGD Conference, held in San Francisco. The jury selected 22 winning projects, including RSM, which received the highest recognition of an Honor Award for Base Camp Charlie in the leisure/entertainment environment category. Winning projects in the 2013 SEGD Global Design Awards are all working toward the same goal: providing experiences that connect people to place.

The winning projects illustrate the dramatic impact that environmental graphic design has on the built world—and how EGD can impact the way people perceive and use public spaces. A jury added “When you look at the winning projects individually and collectively, you see how design plays a major role in our daily lives.”

The Boy Scouts of America’s Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia is the new home of the 10-day BSA National Jamboree, which attracts 40,000 scouts and an additional 50,000 visitors for the event held once every four years. Located on a 10,000-acre site adjacent to the New River Gorge National Park Area, the Summit is a unique high-adventure camp. The identity and wayfinding signage program, developed by RSM Design, was designed to guide scouts and visitors to the site amenities and campsite areas. RSM’s program responds to the natural context of the site as well as the crafted qualities of local materials, mixed with the contemporary attitudes of the adventure activities to create unique juxtapositions within the sign designs. Sign components were designed to be inexpensive and flexible, with no extraneous material usage or superfluous detailing.

The South Berkeley Library opened in a percolating community event last week. Hosted by local civil leaders, a large crowd gathered to hear about the completely renovated facility and get their first look inside.

While half of the library focuses on the traditional books and periodicals, the other half operates as tool lending library where you can find everything from a simple spade for gardening to large power tools for intense renovation projects.

RSM designer Christy Montgomery recalls design inspiration, “As a kid I spent hours pounding nails and building ‘art projects’ in my dad’s garage. The South Berkeley Library was a great way to look back on those times and focus on the workshop as a place of imagination. The bright yellow-orange at the heart of the palette is inspired by the same orange seen on tape measures, Stanley screwdrivers, and countless other icons of the handyman’s garage. For the letters of the canopy signs, the measuring tape was abstracted into the return of the letterforms. The sides were intentionally left open, allowing internal illumination of letters on the raceway without the usual, horsey backplate typically used in such sign types. The recessed ‘halo’ illumination technique was also carefully chosen to consider the residential neighborhood location of the sign. This same formal detail was used on the internal way finding signs, connecting the project with a strong look that expressed the distinctive attributes of the location.

It was a great pleasure to work on this project with Yann, Avery and the team at Field Paoli. They encouraged us to make the graphics and signage bold, expressive and fun.” Inside people filled the aisles, browsing the collection and getting to know the library staff. The main atrium space, a bright and open area with high ceilings and lots of natural light, buzzed with excitement .

Category signs were developed to be eye-catching, but allow for transparency. Drawing again from the workshop as inspiration, the dot pattern that appears throughout the interior signage was informed by garage pegboards.

Barrio Logan, a unique and diverse neighborhood located in southern San Diego at the foot of the Coronado Bay Bridge is under redevelopment to enhance the community’s cultural and ethnic qualities and the neighborhood’s distinctive character.

As part of the redevelopment, RSM is working closely with Shea Properties on Mercado del Barrio, a residential and commercial mixed-use development – one of the first in the area. The team at RSM is creating a culturally appropriate branding, identity, and wayfinding program. The Mercado, located within the “heart” of Barrio Logan, consists of the redevelopment of two vacant city blocks into a vibrant lifestyle district that will include a Latino-themed supermarket, retail shops, residential units, and restaurants.

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