Harbor Collective — 2023
Wayfinding for a working waterfront
Environmental graphics and a companion site for a redeveloped industrial harbor district.
Overview
Twenty-two tenants across nine buildings, most of them still working marine businesses, opening to the public for the first time.
The challenge
Visitors could not tell which buildings were open to them and which were active shipyards. The district needed to feel welcoming without pretending it was a mall.
Approach
We built a sign system from the vocabulary already on site — stenciled type, marine paint, steel — and matched it to a site map that works on a phone in bright sun.
Outcome
Foot traffic to public tenants rose sharply through the first season, with no reported access incidents at working berths.
- Tenants
- 22
- Signs installed
- 140
- Timeline
- 16 weeks
