Cool Signage at University Circle
We once were lost but now we're found

A new way-finding system in University Circle makes it easier to get from here to there.

Have you ever gotten lost in University Circle? Don’t feel bad; so has Chris Ronayne. “It happened the first day on my new job,” says the president of University Circle Incorporated.

It could happen to just about anyone. “This is a high-density place with a maze of streets,” Ronayne says. “You can pass through and in moments realize you’re outside the Circle.”

The purple signs that dotted the University Circle landscape for almost 20 years didn’t necessarily ease the confusion. As many as ten institutions could be listed on a single sign. (The average driver can take in a maximum of four messages per sign, according to Ronayne.) Arrows pointed in a myriad of directions. Placement of the signs at car level meant that a parked vehicle could obstruct the view of a passing driver seeking directions. If an institution changed its name or shut its doors, the name could be rubbed off but not totally removed. Recall, if you will, the worn name of Mt. Sinai that could still be made out on signs years after the hospital had closed.

If you’ve been to University Circle in the past month or so, you may have noticed that those purple signs are no more. In their stead is a series of cool, updated signs that could easily be mistaken for sculpture.

The new signs in University Circle combine steel, bright colors and the three-arc University Circle logo, which represents innovations in health, education and the arts. The lines and materials bespeak contemporary flair, yet the signs feel as though they’ve been there all along.

“They’re modern, progressive, urban and contemporary,” Ronayne says. “They take their cues from the Euclid Corridor Project, the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center’s new headquarters or the new CMA wing.” At the same time, they don’t contrast with the architectural grandeur of a building like Severance Hall. And because they’re porous, adds Ronayne, you can see through to the natural landscape.

In addition to being aesthetically appealing, they really work.

The signs are created in a hierarchical system, with larger signs on major thoroughfares such as Euclid Avenue giving way to smaller signs around Wade Oval. They are designed to help you zero in on your ultimate destination, be it The Museum of Natural History, Severance Hall or Case Western Reserve University.

“The signs follow common pathways; no more back roads,” says Rachel Downey, founder and principal of Studio Graphique, the Shaker Square graphic design firm responsible for developing the way-finding system.

They also sit higher than the old signs, quickly attracting drivers’ attention.

The perforated metal backgrounds of large signs allow individual placards to be removed or replaced. The raw metal face of the smaller signs can be easily buffed out when a name change or removal is required.

Surprisingly, the new way-finding system uses 70 signs, 26 fewer than the previous system, making it much more efficient.

Up next for UCI and Studio Graphique: a way-finding system focusing on pedestrian traffic. Downey calls this project “one of the best examples of a collaborative effort.” Studio Graphique worked hand-in-hand with UCI to determine the look that would best complement the Circle. Individual institutions within the Circle were surveyed. “We spoke with someone in operations and someone at the front lines to see how they direct visitors to their institutions,” Downey says. Wagner Electric Sign Company of Elyria was brought on early to the project to get a feel for how the signs should be fabricated.

Collaboration is what it’s all about at the Circle these days, according to Ronayne. Individual institutions are working together to draw attention to the overall area. “We have the mentality that if we market together, there’s an upside to individual institutions,” he explains.

The signage is part of the Circle’s new marketing message, “Find Yourself in the Circle.” It is an ambitious plan to keep things in Cleveland’s cultural gem moving in the right direction.

“Our ultimate goal is to create Ohio’s number one visitor destination,” Ronayne says. “University Circle has about 2.5 million visitors a year; our goal is to double that.”

Diane DiPiero

Diane DiPiero is always on the lookout for interesting people and organizations that make Cleveland great. Her work has appeared in the Plain Dealer, Cleveland Magazine, Cleveland Business Connects, Crain's Cleveland Business and other local and national publications. Diane recently started Brand It Write, a company that creates web content, newsletters, press releases and other written communications materials for small businesses. A native of Youngstown, she blogs about the Cleveland and Youngstown areas at http://www.asiwaswriting.blogspot.com. Diane is a mother of three and is writing a novel in her precious spare time.