Image Credit : Michelle Young
Project Overview
Working in collaboration with Joey Ho and Patrick Leung of PalDesign Architects, the agency was commissioned to work on a new concept in children’s play spaces that is understood to be the first of its kind in Australia. Built around best practices for early childhood education through the lense of play, NUBO supports play and educational growth through exploration and connection for children 0-10 years.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Architects and Interior Design – PAL Design Group, Joey Ho – Design Partner, Patrick Leung – Design Partner
Design Manager: Hannah Radford
Environments Design Director: Maria Briganti
Designer: Yvonne Tong
Strategy Director: Catriona Burgess
Strategist: Jeanne Ogilvie
Project Brief
The main objective of the 768sqm floor space was learning through play with self-directed and initiated activities. NUBO maintains a clean, calm quality through a beautiful and clever minimal aesthetic and palette. All the elements we integrated into the space had to keep this in mind and do their job of wayfinding without distracting or fighting for attention.
Project Innovation/Need
To articulate the notion of ‘pure play’ in a way that could resonate with both parents and children, the concept needed to be anchored by a core creative idea. We started the project with naming. The word Nubo translates as ‘cloud’ in Esperanto. The creative idea itself was inspired by the brand name.
The notion of cloud gazing became central to the ideation process. The singular idea – of exercising the imagination - informed the architectural design concept, fed into the branded environment signage strategy, and steered the direction of the brand identity. The logo utilises the ‘B’ as a cloud device, and this is carried across all brand touch points and integrated into the illustration style.
Design Challenge
One of the main challenges of the space was the pre-reading age of many of the children. It was important to implement a system of wayfinding and identification that would allow a child to independently navigate the space. We designed a system of symbols - abstract and realistic - that could be interpreted or understood by a child in their own way, thereby becoming an identification system for them.
The design for this system needed to seamlessly fit into the design aesthetic created by the interior designer. We used illuminated timber discs located around the space at the average sight line for a 3-5 year old. Language was also used as an additional layer of communication to the wayfinding and signage. One-syllable adjectives were scattered through the space to describe the action taking place in each of the spaces. These words also encourage children to identify sounds and words as they learn to read.
The outcome is the creation of a highly engaging and forward thinking play space for pre-school and primary school aged children.
Effectiveness
All signs are made of durable hard wearing materials and are illuminated using LED technology that will last many years with minimal maintenance and power requirements.
Graphic Design - Environmental
This award celebrates creativity and innovation in the intersection of communication design and the built environment, and is concerned with the visual aspects of wayfinding, communication identity and brands, information design and shaping the idea of place. Consideration given to clarity of communication and the matching of information style to audience.
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