Bridging past and present

Client

Tou

Deliverables

Wayfinding strategy
Signage
Illustration

Year

2023

Credits

Daavid Mörtl
Moxey
Oddbjørn Aarstad
Tommy Ellingsen
Christopher Jonassen
Stavanger Byarkiv


Tou is a music and art venue in Stavanger and one of Norway’s largest independent cultural institutions. Tou used to be a brewery from 1901 to 2003, and was recently refurbished with a vision of further developing the building mass, rather than build up a completely new district.

By retaining the old layout, navigating the place became challenging. Visitors often ended up in the wrong spaces.

Based on research and site visits, we defined a wayfinding strategy & signage system to help guide visitors around the historic destination.

Project information

View

A directional sign on a speckled concrete wall indicating various locations such as 'Loftet', 'Bar & terrasse', 'Scene 1 & 2', 'Maskinhallen', and 'WC'.
Tou_05
Tou_circulation_01
Tou_scan_01

With the building being a purpose built brewery, we initially did detailed studies of circulation- and user behaviour within the space.

Illuminated sign reading 'Maskinhallen' mounted above a doorway, with exposed brick walls and a red electrical conduit on the left side.
OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02415-3
OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02327

Light sources are an important part of the system. Illuminated signs draws in visitors to key spaces and events in the evening.

Tou_Scene2_01
OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02316

As part of the signage system, a new typeface with more legibility and personality was introduced. Store Norske Geita is a Norwegian grotesk typeface drawn by Store Norske Skriftkompani, and reflects the rich history and quirkiness of the building.

To enhance accessibility and navigation, we partnered with illustrator Daavid Mörtl to create a building overview showing all entrances and key destinations.

Tou_oker_daavid
OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02481

The signage system celebrates one of the main architectural features – the iconic and original rust red facade colour.

OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02536_cropped

Entrance points in the building were assigned letters for easy identification.

OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02443

Vertically describing levels was an important part of the strategy, to quickly give visitors an overview of where to navigate.

OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02573
OKER_TOU_SKILTING_300dpi-02424