News.
Murals Come to Life at Rodeo 39
Located in Stanton, California, Rodeo 39 is quickly becoming known as the street art gallery. As you approach the project three large murals greet you on the exterior buildings. Inside the market hall the demising walls between tenants showcases local and international artists as well.
The exterior artwork, designed and installed by RSM Design, consist of three murals that span over 2500 square feet of wall space. When designing the signage and graphics for Rodeo 39 RSM Design creatively approached the wayfinding for the project. The Stanton sign codes strictly regulate size and quantity for identity signage. RSM Design proposed using large wall mural installations as primary wayfinding elements, creating not only visual landmarks, but beautifying the neighborhood at the same time.
The murals were specifically designed for a specific function at each location. One mural acts as an abstract artistic version of a project ID along the primary road. Another mural incorporates a stylized arrow pattern to be used as a directional. The final and largest mural was designed to be the eye catching pop of color directing your eyes to the entrance of the Public Market.
Three weeks of painting and 37 different colors of paint later, the Rodeo 39 murals are complete. Check out the video below to watch the murals come to life.
Experiential Design · Part 1 of 4
RSM Design is investigating placemaking design to connect people to the built environment through rich experiences in this 4-part blog series.
RSM Design is investigating placemaking design to connect people to the built environment through rich experiences in this 4-part series. An in-depth look at how environmental graphic design can reflect a design process that puts people at the center of the intent, process, and outcome of the experiences that we design.
The neighborhood… the town center… the park… the school… the museum. These are destinations that we return to again and again. They are the soul of our community, the anchors for our memories, and the spaces for inspiration and learning. Creating these unique places requires a vision which combines an appreciation of the human experience, a clear understanding of the built environment, and the relationship between the two.
There are no templates in creating places that people truly engage with and appreciate, as every place is uniquely different. Each place offers insights into varied cultures, uses, or perspectives that require their own original recipe for design. It is essential for experiential graphic designers to translate the unique character and qualities of a place with relevance, resonance, and inspiration.
Design acts as a bridge for unconscious connections
The psychology of design is an essential ingredient in connecting people to place. More than simply decorating a space, environmental graphic design is critical to establishing the purpose of a space, the visitor’s place within it, and helping to shape the overall experience. While a visitor may never recognize that design is at play, the work environmental graphic designers do, is essential to establishing that unconscious connection.
Environmental graphic design is about creating a vocabulary of design elements that reinforce the architecture and help define the context for a place that people will connect with. Subtleties in design can have a huge impact. A different typeface can completely change the vibe of a place. A well-placed bench can bring moments of comfort and joy. A cool mural or graphic can inspire selfies to share with others. These are the emotional connections that drive people, the unconscious aspects that create resonance and transform a simple visit into a dynamic and memorable experience. This is the art of environmental graphic design at its most powerful.
Environmental Graphic Design transforms bricks, glass, and concrete into a place with soul and style
We create places for people to linger, we guide them to new destinations, and we facilitate shared experiences. The design is clearly more than an aesthetic overlay, going beyond making environmental elements look good, to express the essence of a place. The infusion of design profoundly connects the space to the people that will inhabit and visit the place.
Designers of experiential environments have a broad palette to work with—identity, typography, symbols, materials, colors, wayfinding, public art, for example—all the tools needed to root the environment in its place and make it meaningful to each person. A subconscious connection in forged by building an immersive experience that resonates more deeply than words.
The creative work of RSM Design lives at the intersection of architecture and the human spirit. It is this unique blend that poses the best opportunities and inspires thoughtful and creative design solutions. This article has been updated from the original post on September 30, 2019
READ PART 2: PRINCIPLE CENTERED DESIGN
Principle Centered Design™
RSM Design’s work is about marrying the elements of architecture to the needs of the people that will experience it. Every connection to a built environment starts with the physical space and context. We use the built environment to choreograph and craft a story and breathe soul into public and private places. The disciplines of architecture and graphic design live harmoniously and symbiotically together. This relationship has been around for centuries as an important component of the project narrative. Whether through hieroglyphics, classical inscriptions, façade stenciling, strong building identities, the two disciplines work together to create a cohesive narrative of the building and the way the visitor interacts with it. This marriage is not limited to buildings alone, but also manifests itself in civic spaces and urban places where signage, wayfinding, and art combine to create richness, character, functionality, and engagement.
The Physical Space and Those Who Experience It
RSM Design’s work is about marrying the elements of architecture to the needs of the people that will experience it. Every connection to a built environment starts with the physical space and context. We use the built environment to choreograph and craft a story and breathe soul into public and private places.
The disciplines of architecture and graphic design live harmoniously and symbiotically together. This relationship has been around for centuries as an important component of the project narrative. Whether through hieroglyphics, classical inscriptions, façade stenciling, strong building identities, the two disciplines work together to create a cohesive narrative of the building and the way the visitor interacts with it. This marriage is not limited to buildings alone, but also manifests itself in civic spaces and urban places where signage, wayfinding, and art combine to create richness, character, functionality, and engagement.
We Use the Built Environment to Choreograph and Craft Architectural Graphics that Send a Message
Architecture speaks of space, form, place, and function while architectural graphic design communicates a building’s function, purpose, message, and narrative. Effective and appropriate architectural graphic designs support the statement made by a building and strengthen its presence. The graphics layered into the environment are derived from the architectural context, spatial context, cultural context, and historical context to which they relate. They are not independent nor superficial. The design elements provide meaning, form, function, and purpose, along with the architecture. Whether these architectural graphic designs are woven into the building or space through identity signage, wayfinding signage, specialty features, or graphic embellishments, there is an open dialogue that mutually benefits one another.
Architectural graphic design creates a strong sense of place, fulfills human needs, helps users find their way, and communicates a building’s narrative, fostering a strong connection between the person and place. The relationship of architecture and graphic design is a symbiotic alliance that orients, informs, and delights.
A Principle Centered Design Approach
The primary guiding principle of RSM Design’s practice is that people are at the center of everything we do. Whether you think of people in terms of individuals, groups, or communities, they are inherently at the center of the architectural graphic designer’s focus.
Our goal with any project is to help people to feel good, to give them a sense of meaning in their environment, and to help them identify within the community that will build an enduring and lasting connection.
When visitors look at a place, drive up or walk through it, the work of architectural graphic designers is what helps make it unique and identifiable, and more importantly resonate with its purpose. People want to feel good about putting their energy into the environment and be a part of it.
We want people to feel empowered by the spaces they occupy. So, how do we invigorate the environment to make it more engaging and create the kinds of connections that surpass the physical?
We place people at the center of the design process. Everything revolves around understanding the core needs, values, and objectives of the people that will occupy the space. It’s all about their motivations and desires. We create brands, wayfinding, signage, and artful moments that engage the psychology, spark memories, tap emotions. What we’ve learned over the years is that subtleties in design, a different typeface, color choices, the placement of a piece of art can totally transform the experience.
Places have the power to become part of a person’s identity, particularly when they are authentic, when they stand for something. Making that connection requires a deeper level of sensitivity and understanding. A colorful sign won’t do it. To be effective, our work has to engage at every human level—the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit. It’s a whole-person approach that radically defines the work we do.
READ PART 1: EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
READ PART 3: CONNECTING PEOPLE TO PLACE
READ PART 4: CERTAINTY, VARIETY, DELIGHT
Connecting People to Place · Part 3 of 4
To be truly effective, the designs have to engage at every human level – the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit. As architectural graphic designers, every new project is rich with opportunities to help connect people to places. Not only is RSM Design mindful of the multiple intelligences that motivate people wherever they may venture, our Design Leadership Process is governed by principles that truly puts people at the center of every design decision.
To be truly effective, the designs have to engage at every human level – the body, the mind, the heart, and the spirit
The Motivations of the Whole Person
As architectural graphic designers, every new project is rich with opportunities to help connect people to places. Not only is RSM Design mindful of the multiple intelligences that motivate people wherever they may venture, our Design Leadership Process is governed by principles that truly puts people at the center of every design decision.
By tapping into each of the intelligences above, we aim to create places and experiences that are mindful of the whole person. Creating a holistic connection of people to place is our ultimate goal by utilizing a process that follows these same four motivations.
IQ
Mental Intelligence
Creating environments that encourage people to think and mentally engage with a place. Information plaques and signage as well as historical markers help facilitate mental engagement.
Knowing what the right things to do are before doing them right.
SQ
Spiritual Intelligence
Connection to ideas bigger than one’s self and the ability to think creatively beyond what is seen and experienced on a daily basis.
The desire to seek purpose and meaning, and to have accountability in what we design.
Crafting solutions based on principles & values.
PQ
Physical Intelligence
Creating places that encourage connection with the environment through physical engagement. Wayfinding signage helps people navigate and engage in their environments and encourages physical mobility.
The end pre-exists in the means... the process will determine the product.
EQ
Emotional Intelligence
Creating environments that invite communication and social interaction with others. Placemaking elements and specialty graphics enrich the environment and encourage emotional connections.
Creating places people love.
READ PART 1: EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
Certainty Variety Delight · Part 4 of 4
Abraham Maslow is best known for his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” where he establishes and outlines the five basic human needs. At the bottom of the famous pyramid are the physiological needs, the most basic necessities for human life—food, water, air, shelter, and clothing, to name a few. This is followed by the need for safety, then the need for love and belonging, then esteem (self-respect and feeling respected by others), and at the very top of the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization. It’s important to take all of these human needs into consideration when designing, because they are fundamental principles that connect people to places they will feel comfortable and fulfilled, and ultimately want to spend time in again and again. As part of our design process at RSM Design, we have reinterpreted Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to fit seamlessly into the design of a place. We call it “Certainty, Variety, Delight,” and we concentrate on these three elements to simplify and focus our design intent for every project to create a rich, layered experience rooted in human needs.
The principles of certainty, variety and delight connect people and places through a layered experience.
Human Motivation in Design
Abraham Maslow is best known for his 1943 paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” where he establishes and outlines the five basic human needs. At the bottom of the famous pyramid are the physiological needs, the most basic necessities for human life—food, water, air, shelter, and clothing, to name a few. This is followed by the need for safety, then the need for love and belonging, then esteem (self-respect and feeling respected by others), and at the very top of the hierarchy is the need for self-actualization.
It’s important to take all of these human needs into consideration when designing, because they are fundamental principles that connect people to places they will feel comfortable and fulfilled, and ultimately want to spend time in again and again. As part of our design process at RSM Design, we have reinterpreted Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to fit seamlessly into the design of a place. We call it “Certainty, Variety, Delight,” and we concentrate on these three elements to simplify and focus our design intent for every project to create a rich, layered experience rooted in human needs.
Certainty
Nobody likes feeling lost or not knowing what to do in unfamiliar situations. Certainty taps into this idea, that when you are going to a new place, you should be provided ample direction to be confident in your ability to navigate the space. This is the foundation of the pyramid, providing people with the right information, at the right time.
Variety
The paradox at the core of this need for certainty is that too much comfort and too much security can create a sense of predictability and boredom. People stop engaging with their surroundings and instead move blindly through the space between their destinations.
Variety provides that little change of pace, just enough difference to keep you in the moment and create an awareness of the details of their surroundings. It breaks the rhythm of a place and allows for moments of exploration, curiosity, and learning.
Delight
Creating the moments of delight is one of the most challenging parts of the design process. To truly be delightful, the moment can’t feel forced or contrived; it must occur naturally and organically, and above all, it must make people happy. These are the moments that show the true personality, culture, and history of a project, and the moments that turn into memories.
READ PART 1: EXPERIENTIAL DESIGN
Ovation Hollywood!
Hollywood & Highland, the well-known landmark destination adjacent to the Chinese Theatre and home of the Academy Awards, will soon breathe a renewed life with a dynamic new brand and positioning, Ovation Hollywood. Known for its prominent location at the corner of Hollywood and Highland and its iconic view of the historic Hollywood sign, this property has seen better times. Fortunately, the renewed brand image and $100-million makeover will restore this property to its Tinseltown splendor once again.
The creative team at RSM Design has been working closely with Gensler, OJB Landscape, Taylor and Miller Design, Ludlow Kingsley, and others to completely reimage every aspect of the project. After completing an extensive analysis of the property, including wayfinding strategies, signage entitlements / inventory, flow patterns and guest interactions, RSM Design has designed timeless wayfinding solutions for the complex labyrinth of interior / exterior spaces. A completely new wayfinding strategy has been developed to guide visitors around the once confusing circulation paths. Additionally, the RSM team has designed a fresh palette of brand murals and other placemaking graphics to respect the new brand character and create a sense of place that is unique to Hollywood.
RSM Design is proud to be a part of this amazing team and have the opportunity to reimagine this iconic piece of Hollywood history. Read more about the project here.