Leading environmental graphic design professionals from North America and Europe will meet to share ideas, strategies, and resources during SEGD's first-ever international symposium October 22 in London.
"Minding the Gap: Views on EGD from Both Sides of the Pond" will focus on the broad contemporary practice of environmental graphic design, the range of disciplines represented in the SEGD community, and the role of EGD in the built environment.
"The scope and impact of EGD continues to evolve and expand, and this is a perfect moment for North American and European designers to meet, exchange ideas, and focus on what lies ahead for our profession," said David Gibson, information designer and principal of Two Twelve (New York). Gibson and Alexandra Wood, principal of Holmes Wood (London) are co-organizers of the event.
The opening session will highlight the breadth of EGD, from wayfinding to environments and exhibition design. After opening remarks by Lee Skolnick, Lee H. Skolnick Architecture + Design Partnership (New York), presentations will include David Gibson on wayfinding; Laurence Madrelle of LM Communiquer (Paris) on environments; Gary Shelley of Casson Mann (London) on exhibition design; and Jason Bruges, Jason Bruges Studio (London) on art and lighting design.
The symposium will be held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, where environmental graphic design has helped to shape the visitor experience and provide context for one of the world's most diverse museum collections. Moira Gemmill, the V&A's director of projects, design, and estates, will lead a panel featuring contemporary designers working for the museum, including Lucy Holmes of Holmes Wood; Agnieska Glowacka of Glowacka Rennie Architects (London); and Frans Bevers of Opera Amsterdam.
A panel discussion hosted by the Sign Design Society, led by SDS President Michael Wolff, will showcase design for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Recent winners of the SEGD Design Awards program will highlight the day's final session. 2010 winners including Tim Fendley of Applied Information Group (London), designers of the Legible London pedestrian wayfinding system, and Nuno Gusmão, principal associate of P-06 Atelier (Lisbon), which won awards for the Theatre and Auditorium of Poitiers, Bikeway Belem, and Museu Fundação Oriente, will present their work.
The symposium will close with a "Looking Ahead" discussion between Pentagram partners Daniel Weil (London) and Michael Gericke (New York).
The symposium will highlight EGD's multidisciplinary nature and its reach into all aspects of design for the built environment, says Alexandra Wood, a member of the SEGD Board of Directors.
The event is open to designers, clients, developers, fabricators, technology providers, and other professionals connected with environmental graphic design or allied disciplines including architecture, graphic and interior design, information and interaction design, wayfinding, and signage design.
"SEGD offers an incredibly valuable array of educational resources to those of us practicing environmental graphic design," said Wood. "Encouraging a formal dialogue among colleagues 'across the pond' is a great first step toward sharing SEGD resources globally."