David Jorritsma of Burlington, Ont., developed SignAgent software to support data management and synchronization specifically for wayfinding systems.
The rise of design facilitators
Another major change to the collaborative approach has been the rise of design facilitators. These are designers, engineers and wayfinding specialists who focus on developing more complete project documentation, to be sent for pricing among multiple bidders. Their role is to advance the fabrication process while fostering a working environment where both designers and fabricators can participate, particularly when addressing government projects where documentation needs to be very clear and highly detailed.
Innovations developed by these specialists, including 3-D fabrication documents and digital message schedules, have helped raise the standard for bid documentation and, in turn, made the hiring of specialists and consultants much more common in the market.
One example of this trend is David Jorritsma of Burlington, Ont. After working for Toronto-based environmental graphic design (EGD) firm Entro and consulting for Burlington’s municipal government on a master signage strategy, he founded Jorristma Design in 2006 as a service provider for wayfinding firms, assisting them with message scheduling and location planning.
To make his own job easier, Jorritsma developed software to support data management and synchronization for wayfinding sign systems. He soon realized there was a broader market for this software, so he made it available commercially as SignAgent Pro.
His next release, SignAgent Manager, was a natural extension of this system, enabling facility managers to better control their sign creation, inventory and maintenance activities.
In 2015, he rebranded his business as SignAgent, too. Today, SignAgent Pro is trusted by the world’s leading wayfinding design firms for planning and implementing complex sign systems, while SignAgent Manager is used in some of the largest facilities for the inventory, maintenance and upgrading of wayfinding signs.
Kramer Design Associates (KDA) has taken an ‘atelier’ approach to planning signage for Edmonton’s new Ice District.
The in-house workshop
In Europe, meanwhile, there is still an ‘atelier’ (i.e. artist’s workshop) model for collaboration. Design firms hire a variety of high-level talent, including digital and industrial design specialists, and connect them with a larger community of artisans.
In the last few years, a growing number of North American sign design and fabrication companies have tried to recreate the model, but it has been a challenge because of the. Public and negotiated bidding is still a powerful force in their market, making it difficult to form consistent teams.
At the same time, however, atelier models are often initiated by powerful in-house design teams at sign and graphic providers’ bigger client companies, such as Starbucks. These corporations establish groups of qualified specialists to support large-scale rollouts and experimental prototype stores.
That said, the atelier approach does exist in some North American graphic and display sectors, particularly in exhibition design. Toronto-based Kramer Design Associates (KDA), too, has been able to develop a small ‘stable’ of sophisticated, experienced fabrication experts. As a leading developer of wayfinding sign systems, street furniture, dynamic media architecture and other placemaking projects, KDA brings industrial designers, planners and graphic designers together with a high level of manufacturing expertise. Its fabrication specialists are on call to ensure the company’s standards can be satisfied for each application. Indeed, there is a standardized process of constant evaluation for high-profile projects, including site visits, educational meetings and reviews.
In all of these ways, the design-fabrication process can be enhanced, such that each specialist’s expertise is full leveraged without having to remain at a distance or closed off.
Craig M. Berger is chair of the visual presentation and exhibition design department of the Fashion Institute of Technology’s (FIT’s) School of Art and Design and runs his own firm, Craig Berger Management Consulting, which assists fabricators, manufacturers and institutions with design-based marketing and education strategies. For information, contact him via e-mail at craigberger19@comcast.net.
