a wayfinding system for Tower 42

This wayfinding graphic and signage system simplifies communication of a complex floor access system for visitors to the redeveloped prestige offices of Tower 42 (formerly NatWest Tower), until very recently the tallest structure in the City of London.

This building’s lift cars are two stories high and travelling floor-to-floor can mean negotiating several interchange levels.  Fletcher Priest Architects commissioned Alembic’s information system, requiring a graphic approach that could be quickly ‘learned’.  Access routes were analysed and distilled into a single colour-coded graphic identifying lift shafts and interchange floors.  The graphic, plus an integrated system of directional signage throughout the building now makes it possible to navigate the building without detailed foreknowledge.



CARMA: Information as product

This research company monitors press activity and PR effectiveness for large companies. As such its product is information and presentation of that information is crucial to CARMA’s brand.

Alembic conducted a visual audit of all communications and developed a new design scheme providing brand guidelines rationalising use of colour, typographic style, layout, information structure and data formatting to establish for the first time a framework for clear, accessible and consistent communications.  There is now a “CARMA way of doing things” and the brand has its own distinct visual language.




Granada Media – The Guide

Granada Media Group promoted broadcast media advertising and sponsorship opportunities in the rapidly growing cable and satellite media market.  Alembic helped Granada Channels establish an authoritative reputation by designing and producing The Guide, an updatable and physically interactive marketing communication containing channel brand presentations, case histories, transmission guides, updates and a series of wallcharts describing the evolution of the satellite and cable market.

By sharing their market knowledge in an accessible format with their specialist audience, Granada Channels was able to create an ‘industry leader’ market position.

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Sport England: measuring success

This annual report for Sport England was produced to a restricted budget and features two documents in a landscape format containing 96 pages of reporting on the funding of sports development projects.  Making this amount of hard information truly accessible – rather than just available – is the aim of our highly structured design.

These documents had to be equally accessible to all audiences – from government, opinion-formers and media who might only require summary or general information – to individual local campaigners who want precise figures for funding allocations and local/regional grants.

Detailed national and regional statistics are mixed with easy-to-read summaries and strong imagery to illustrate the value of funding to individuals and local communities.  A clear typographic structure with carefully set, readable text and ‘breathing spaces’ made the pages seem approachable and were key to the success of this publication.  Recasting information previously presented as plain text and tables in more visual ‘at a glance’ form increased the effectiveness and accessibility of the report.

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We live in the information age and consumers now view information as an indicator of product and service quality.  Businesses are waking up the opportunities of new and existing media to connect with their audiences and now see that properly designed information dramatically increases recognition, communications effectiveness and brand loyalty.

Accessible information encourages trust and we look for opportunities in all our projects to add value to information by ensuring that messages reach users in the most accessible way possible. These projects demonstrate that navigation and access are key factors in communication in print, online or physical environments.