Urban Trails
Creating healthy new walking habits for the new and old residents of La Mesa through Wayfinding.
The City of La Mesa brought to light a problem they needed a solution to within their city. They wanted to implement a healthier lifestyle of walking and biking around their city with the use of Urban Trails, a wayfinding program that would be built around the city to guide residents around to the popular landmarks around. Each student came up with an individual design system solution and pitched it to the city council.
Environmental Design//Wayfinding
Client Research
The City of La Mesa is a neighboring city of the College Area, where San Diego State University is. The city is known for its elderly population, however a new wave of millennials have been claiming residency in the city as well, so the target audience is mixed.
My proposed design intentionally incorporates both audiences by using using modern and clear elements. Multiple site visits occurred in order to research the area prior to designing.
Site One
The designated location of site one was right in a busy area of the city. Included in the design is a smaller sign from one direction to mark which route residents are on. The larger sign notifies the residents of specific landmarks within the city and their distance from this location. A ground marker is another element of wayfinding within this site. The color of the trail is used for this site so residents walking will notice and be attracted to these routes.
Site Two
This site is located at the trolley station and gives residents an idea of how far their walk will be to a certain trail as well as indicate how far specific landmarks of the city are. The design uses black and white in order to hold the most contrast possible.
Flowers and their common colors are used to signify each trail to match the basket of flowers hanging below the larger signs. The fresh flowers are a little special element I chose to include in my system in order to liven up the city and promote a fresh and healthier lifestyle, as the Urban Trails plan is meant to do.
Site Three
The last location is designated to be at the community center in the city. Here a kiosk will include all of the information of the Urban Trails. A water fill up station is included in this design as another special element in order to keep the residents hydrated on their walking routes during the hot San Diego days.
City Navigation App
A navigation application would be necessary in this day and age in order to get around and truly jumpstart this program correctly. Getting around the city will be at ease for all residents no matter where they are coming from. The branding of the application matches the brand system.
