The new civic centre in Shoreham-by-Sea, for Adur District Council, required a new identity and wayfinding to complement the modern building style.
As a civic building, and a place that is used by a broad spectrum of the Shoreham and Adur community, there was an emphasis to develop a scheme that had a good level of accessibility, be well-designed, elegant and sympathetic to the building intention. Running an initial nomenclature phase, involving stakeholders, together we agreed to name the new building ‘The Shoreham Centre’ to communicate a clear, straight-forward name and purpose.
A lettering style was developed using the Glober typeface for it’s friendly design, with its softer edges and modern curves, to form the building logo and signage. Taking a pragmatic approach, the design maximised wall spaces, making the signage as large as possible and installing it directly on to the wall surfaces. The signage appears throughout the building presenting clear directional information and has become a feature of the building.
Outside, a number of totems sign the building and organisations that are the tenants within. The logo appears as three-dimensional lightbox lettering on the east (front of building), north and west face – each controlled by a timed daylight hour switch.
A series of manifestation illustrations, by local graphic illustrator Danny McBride, were commissioned to cover the large areas of glazing around the building and in the interior on the staircase and upper landing. The themes represent important aspects of the local region, including the harbour, environmental diversity and the heritage of Shoreham Airport.
Signage and manifestation fabrication and installation by Tara Signs.
