The new signage system encompasses three main parts: exterior wayfinding, exterior signage, and interior wayfinding pieces. The goal of the project was to unify each element of the system to provide mall-goers with a consistent branding presence from the time they drive into the parking lot.

The exterior wayfinding pieces include pieces that combine the traditional with the contemporary. Seated on a sandstone base, burgundy pillars support large text, bookended on one side by the distinct red logo of the mall. Guidance to the mall’s anchor stores sit beneath on horizontal pieces of steel that instinctively point the way.

The approach into the actual mall is even more dramatic. Where before the mall’s entrances were unmarked and generic, one entrance now frames a cutout of the Christiana Mall logo, lit red from the inside. Another entrance has the logo placed in the 2 o’clock position, providing a more modern stylized variation.

Inside, red dominates again, both on banners and directional pieces hanging from the ceiling. After a study of traffic patterns in the mall, Lorenc+Yoo’s team placed pieces at specific points where they would be most useful to guests. Acrylic and painted metal comprise the main elements of these signs, and provide a sense of quality to shoppers.

Lorenc and Yoo last December completed a semester course at the Georgia Tech School of Architecture on designing immersive spaces. Divided into two parts, the first exercise taught the students the power and possibilities of immersive spaces, that is, environments that convey messages such as branding, emotion or motivate people to take a certain action.

The second unit of the course was a practical application to redesign the Roswell History Center, located in an old mill machine shop from 1830. The class measured the space, drew it, and laid out their spatial narrative. The students handled the assignment like a real world project. The City of Roswell’s director of cultural affairs reviewed their work, and the final draft was presented to the parks board.

Lorenc and Yoo later juried the projects and evaluated them on their artistic, practical, and contextual qualities. The class was a great opportunity for students to learn how design professionals go from the discovery process, to conceptual design, and final designs to present to their clients.

Lorenc+Yoo Design worked with Hnedak Bobo Group on the wayfinding signage program for a major, 346,000 SF expansion of the Kalispel Tribe’s Northern Quest Resort & Casino.

The lobby level Liquid bar features wide, high ceilings and an open, inviting space thanks to the use of wood, bronze, glass, stone and other natural materials. Outside, the team integrated contemporary materials with traditional Native American themes such as the lantern and earth for the designs for the parking deck signage, building signage, and landmark pieces. Following the aesthetic theme, the finishing touch on the landmark sign is a vertical light rising like a beacon.

Lorenc+Yoo Design’s signage system for Christiana Mall encompasses three main parts: exterior wayfinding, exterior signage, and interior wayfinding pieces. The goal of the project was to unify each element of the system to provide mall-goers with a consistent branding presence from the time they drive into the parking lot.

The exterior wayfinding pieces include pieces that combine the traditional with the contemporary. Seated on a sandstone base, burgundy pillars support large text, bookended on one side by the distinct red logo of the mall. Guidance to the mall’s anchor stores sit beneath on horizontal pieces of steel that instinctively point the way.

The design challenge was not only to create handsome graphics and pieces, but also to effectively guide guests through the massive facility. With its partners at HBG, Lorenc+Yoo designed a system that hit every point.

The jewel of the redesign is the lobby level Liquid bar. With its wide, high ceilings, Liquid is an open, inviting space thanks to the use of wood, bronze, glass, stone and other natural materials. Natural light floods the space during the day, while dramatic lighting sets the mood at night. A large archway guides people inside, presenting lettering that appears to drip downward.

The design is clean, considered, and designed to appeal to patrons of many tastes. It is a modern take on the heritage of the Kalispel Tribe whose roots in the tree-lined hills of the Pacific northwest span centuries.

Responding to the muted lighting throughout the hotel, wayfinding pieces are gently lit from the inside and hang on the side of walls throughout the campus. Small touches like bright red lights again draw guests’ attention to important information.

Outside, the team integrated contemporary materials with traditional Native American themes such as the lantern and earth for the designs for the parking deck signage, building signage, and landmark pieces. Following the aesthetic theme, the finishing touch on the landmark sign is a vertical light rising like a beacon.

Lorenc+Yoo also designed the logo for the resort, incorporating the quest theme by integrating a compass graphic into the letter Q. Punchy, red coloration accents the sign on the side of the main building, making it visible for miles.

The graphics of Northern Quest Casino & Resort is the latest successful collaboration between Hnedak Bobo Group and Lorenc+Yoo Design.

• First Place, Electric Building Signs – Liquid Bar at Northern Quest Resort & Casino
• Second Place, Electronic Message Centers – Windcreek Casino
• Third Place, Sign Systems – Potawatomi Casino signage program

In late May, LYD senior designer David Park attended a weeklong classical architecture symposium in New York City. Park attended to strengthen LYD’s understanding of classical proportions and design. In June, Jan Lorenc attended the conference of the Congress for the New Urbanism, an organization dedicated to promoting walkable, neighborhood-based development, in Denver, where he attended sessions on sustainability in urban design, zoning and planning.

Lorenc+Yoo’s design team doesn’t just attend classes, but instructs them as well. LYD associate Hartmut Jordan teaches a regular class on environmental graphics at Portfolio Center in Atlanta. “I task the students with designing a wayfinding system for a resort, tradeshow booth, museum exhibit and retail environment,” Jordan said. “We’ve also worked on the ‘White House Redux’ project, a national competition to redesign the White House.”

Lorenc+Yoo recently presented a retrospective of 31 years of design to the Atlanta office of HOK architects at an afternoon design enrichment series, celebrating the firm’s portfolio of award-winning work.

In mid-July, Lorenc+Yoo was selected to design the environmental graphics program for the Devon Tower in Oklahoma City. When completed in 2012, this landmark 925-foot tower will be the tallest building in the region.

Signs of the Times selected two Lorenc+Yoo projects as winners of its International Sign Competition: First place in the Exhibit Trade Show Graphics Category for DLC and second place in the same category for Related. These shopping center development firms showcased their exhibits at the International Council of Shopping Centers annual trade show. Congratulations also go to Journey Communications, our partners on these successful exhibit design projects.

Additionally, the Atlanta chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) selected Lorenc+Yoo’s design for the UPS Hospitality Suite at the Beijing 2008 Olympics for its 2009 SEED Awards in the exhibition design category. SEED stands for Southeastern Excellence in Design, and it is the largest design competition in the region.

Graphis Branding 3, published in May 2009, recognized two Lorenc+Yoo projects as the best of the best in graphic and environmental design: Samsung Rising Hand and the UPS hospitality suite at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Graphis began publication in 1944 and is one of the defining showcases of design.