a.l.s.o. e.V.

A new guidance system for a.l.s.o.

The aim of this semester was to develop a comprehensive concept for an orientation system for the interior and exterior of the a.l.s.o in Schwäbisch Gmünd. Project consists collection of signs providing clear understanding of the space for a visitor and visual identification for a.l.s.o..

Holdersystem

The holdersystem contains a group of elements that might be combined with each other in many ways due to its‘ modularity.
The core is a wooden rail that connects to separate signs - so that it is possible to change the order of the signs or to replace them with other signs when it is required. As Edelwerk is an important element of a.l.s.o., we decided to use sign holders made of wood - those can be easily made by the Edelwerk team. The aim of creating such a holder was to provide possibility to bring signs closer to a perceiver which is possible thanks to element which is perpendicular to a sign.

Entrance sign

The system also consists an entrance sign - the map, which stands next to the entrance door to a.l.s.o. The aim of the sign is to inform you what to expect from the interior of the building. The space on the plan is divided into floors and into colour planes - each colour with proper icon designated for a different field of a.l.s.o.

Staircase sign

This is the tricky sign. Thanks to the second floor’s special situation. In summer, both doors are opened, so there is little space on the wall and the currently hanging sign disappears into the background.
To solve the problem, this system provides wooden rails and sign holders that support the signs facing the room. It is also possible to remove and replace signs - the idea occured because of lively character of also.

Current event sign
As there is a lot of projects runned by also that are taking place each week, there is a sign that might be placed on a rail that informs that the event takes place. The second sign might be hanged on the door’s handle or placed on the rail next to the door.

Ceiling signs

As there are situations that seems to be unclear, such as the Beratung room within the second-hand area or the corridor leading to the Beratung area, the system is supplemented by ceiling signs. The sizes of the signs depend on the environment.

Icons

The new sign system is based on the 4 main branches of a.l.s.o. activity which are: Beratung, Edelwerk, Antiquariat with Second Hand and a Cafe. Each icon has its own family, so it‘s complemented by subicons such as the icon for Solotutti in the Beratung category or the icon for musical events for the café. Icons have also been designed for the services offered by also.

In addition, from the abstracted elements of the basic icons, a set of graphic signs was designed in aim to complement the rest of the visual identity.

Colours

Since a major weak point was the confusing and partly missing color coding of the areas, it was decided to use four clearly distinguishable colors. Each area of the social facility was color-coded to ensure quick orientation in the building. The colors were chosen to match the areas: Since green had previously been the color of the Edelwerk wood workshop, it was retained in a fresher green.

White and a black tone are added to the colors. These appear in the background and as font color, respectively.

Typeface

The new house font of the institution is ABC Repro. It is a flexible, loose serif font and reflects the a.l.s.o. very well through its friendliness but gives also a professional impression. A typeface that combines clear design with complex font technology. Care was also taken to ensure that the font supports the Arabic and Cyrillic alphabets, as it happens in the company that texts have to be written in Ukrainian, for example.
For the guidance system, the typefaces Regular Medium and Bold were used for some emphasis. Care was taken to develop a clear and simple system for the application.

Logo

The logo consists of the name in the house font ABC Repro and an additional word mark consisting of the abstract icons of the institution’s fields. The logo can also appear in a colour of the respective field if there are field-specific things to design.

Social Media

To reach more people, there needs to be more communication to the outside world. For this purpose, an Instagram account was hinted at, on which one is informed about upcoming events.

The Posters