Ford Learning Center Signage

The signage for the Ford Learning Center at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art was the first implementation of an overall campus signage program designed by BNIM. The environmental graphics solution for the Ford Learning Center is youthful, yet sophisticated, to remain in keeping with the historic structure and its esteemed collection. Other learning center components such as an Educator Resource Center, an Orientation/Training classroom, and support offices are demarked in the signage language of the existing building. The Ford Motor Company grant, along with many other donors, provided many opportunities for donor recognition within the signage design.

The solution appeals to children by using color as a wayfinding strategy. Each of the seven classrooms is marked with a sign in a unique color, along with a painted inset window that glows from a concealed light source. A gallery wall was placed on the wall surface opposite the classrooms and was fabricated from blackened steel. The Primary donor signage is integrated with this surface to recognize the donors in a way that connects them with the artwork done as part of this center’s outreach. The large orange environmental graphic installation at the entrances to the center makes a bold statement, because it is the first area visitors encounter as they enter the entrance to the main wing of the Museum.