WCS Central Park Zoo Walkway
Project
The Wildlife Conservation Society asked our class to design unique concepts for a wayfinding system for the Central Park Zoo entrance. The entrance is notoriously difficult for visitors (tourists, families, school groups etc.) to navigate ticket purchase and entering the zoo.
My Big Idea
Grab your binoculars and field notebook. We’re becoming WCS wildlife biologists!
Visitors of all ages will experience scenes of a wildlife biologist’s research camp and learn about the massive network of projects and training WCS provides around the world. Visitors will also be encouraged to approach their visit to the CPZ with a different layer of curiosity and role play, all while actively embracing a scientific mindset.
Why this concept?
Makes arriving at CPZ clear, playful and curious.
Tells the worldwide story of WCS conservation.
Sparks youth to envision a career in caring for animals.
Prepares audiences to engage differently during their visit to the Central Park Zoo.
Typeface
My goal was to use a font that looked similar to historic plaques and would evoke a sense of history and storytelling. I also wanted to use typefaces that were designed by women. I decided on Adorn Smooth for a title font and Mrs Eaves for body text.
Shapes
The oval shape of the map informs the oval shape of the numbered location icons, similar to how homes have street number plaques.
Colour Palette
My colour selection came directly from the historic maps of the neighbourhood I found searching the New York Public Libraries’ digital archival collection. Pink was often used to highlight neighbourhood blocks, and the soft beige of the map background is what we clearly associate with maps.
An example of both a historic plaque and child map.
View of main mother map installed in Washington Square Park for tourists and locals to discover.
View of child map in front of plaque featuring a story about Henrietta Chumley.
Lamppost and Hand Motifs
Many ghostly spirits are often believed to be reaching from beyond the veil to guide the living toward some type of lesson or historic misunderstanding. The choice of a lamp post was to illuminate the unseen and guide living tourists and locals towards these stories. I used hands on the structure to hold the map to further communicate this point.
Elevations of physical structures.
Reference images featuring Greenwich Village tombstones, nearby historic map designs, visual inspiration and historic lamppost designs.
I used a lot of sketching on my iPad using Procreate to imagine what the physical forms might look like. I was excited to land on this design, which became my structural influence.
Topic Selection
I have always loved a good ghost story, and based on the booming haunted tourism industry around the world it is clear I am not alone. I selected a historic location and found a ghost tour there.
On the tour, I was surprised at how most stories featured women who had been mistreated or met unjust deaths. I then decided to focus on guiding tourists and visitors to learn more about the story. Through reading Leanna Renee Hieber’s book, I was prompted to think more thoughtfully about how these women’s stories often connect to modern social injustices.
I felt it was important to find a balance between morbid curiosity and respectful storytelling. There were a few locations on the tour I specifically left out of my map, due to a slight discomfort in telling modern deaths as if there are ghosts lingering.