The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst engaged two architecture firms, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and GoodyClancy, to design a much-needed addition to its existing building, called the Business Innovation Hub. Herter Design Group created wayfinding and signage that complemented the unusual design of the building, consisting of copper pillars arranged in an open circle, one end appearing as dominos beginning to fall.
When designing an environmental graphics and wayfinding sign program to work with such distinctive architecture, the designers chose Stratum, a sharp, angular, geometric typeface. The exterior program features aluminum letters with a depth of four inches to give the signage shadowing and a sense of duality. That duality is continued through the interior with room identification panels of different shades, achieved through either first or second-surface painted panels.
