Facade signage

Attach wayfinding flags to the facade

Author: Esther Bentvelsen, Grafikdesignerin, Amsterdam, [email protected]

Online since: 06/09/2012, Number of visits: 410115

My conceptual project:

When I was charged with designing the signage for the 2012 Gerrit Rietveld Graduation Show, I had the idea of using fabric flags for that purpose. I wanted to hang them up on the facades of the Rietveld and the Crouwel buildings, so people could see from afar where which departments were located.

Flag design:

Each of the wayfinding flags showed a certain letter for direction. All flags were blue and white to highlight the common bond of the two buildings. If there were two different departments on the same floor, I separated them visually by reversing the letter and flag colours.

Attaching the flags:

On the Rietveld building I could use magnets to attach the flags (due to the aluminium coating on the Crouwel building I had to find an alternative). 6 people mounted the flags within a day. Thanks to the sewn-in block magnets Q-20-04-03-N (5 per flag) the flags could easily be attached to the Rietveld building. The magnets were strong enough to hold up the flags for 9 days, even during bad weather.

Stairwell banner:

In addition to the smaller flags on the facades of the two buildings, I hung up a huge banner in the stairwell of the Rietveld building. Although it was 22 long, 10 block magnets Q-20-04-03-N were sufficient to hold it up. This banner was also an orientation guide for visitors.

Note from the supermagnete team: Neodymium magnets will start to rust when used outdoors for longer periods of time. The sole exception are rubberised neodymium magnets, which are completely waterproof. Please review the following tips for using magnets outdoors.