People-focused solutions

We plan and develop strategic projects that lead to better design outcomes for people, organisations and places.

We offer consultancy and design services in three core areas:

1

Transformational change
Insight & strategy

Helping organisations define and innovate future services and place experiences.

  • We believe places, spaces and buildings should be easy to use and understand, but also enriching and engaging.

    Our pioneering work spans the development of visions, strategies and design programs to improve the image, identity and legibility of places.

    We unpack the brand DNA of place and consider the interplay between all design elements from shaping urban form and architecture to streetscape design and environmental features.

    Whether it’s developing architecturally intuitive places, using public art to aid legibility and movement, or planning a city's strategic walking network; we carefully research, plan and deliver projects that function well, delight the user, and build on the spirit and sense of place.

    Sectors: Local authorities; regeneration agencies; architects and developers; business improvement districts (BIDs); major destinations and venues.

    Our services and capabilities include:

    Place reading environments
    Historical analysis
    Place reading notation
    Urban and architectural structure
    _Form and morphology
    _    Legibility and connectivity
    _Function and land use structure
    _Movement structure
    _Spatial structure
    _Design and architectural appraisal

    Place branding and identity
    Place values
    Place essence and DNA
    Place brand proposition
    Place expression
    Place brand identity
    Place/spirit books and design idiom

    Place experience strategies
    Carescapes
    Connected Places
    Legible Cities

    Place shaping
    Place vision
    Placemaking concepts and ideation
    Placemaking schemas
    Masterplan review and support
    Public realm strategies
    _Design frameworks
    _Movement frameworks
    _Spatial frameworks
    _Streetscape enhancements
    _Streetscape element typologies
    _Material and furniture palettes
    Programming and activation plans

    Place experience management
    Brief writing development
    Client-side advisory services
    Project advocacy
    Project communications and publications
    Project costing and budgeting
    Project management and scheduling

2

Engaging environments
Legible cities & place shaping

Using place branding and urban design approaches to shape and enrich place.

  • We believe in working collaboratively with clients to bring a deeper understanding of peoples’ needs to the design of places, services and products.

    Our working processes, engagement and co-development techniques enable our clients, partners and government agencies to respond effectively to change.

    We derive user and behavioural insights from best practice, design precedents, scenarios and use-case development as a starting point for the design process.

    Whether it’s helping a client transform a service, developing a vision and blueprint for city connectivity, shaping the arrival experience at a major destination, or considering peoples’ needs when recomposing after airport security; we offer insight and service innovation to transform the user experience.

    Sectors: Governments; public agencies; organisations; and companies and service providers looking to improve the experience of places and related services.

    Our services and capabilities include:

    Service visioning
    Vision and ideas development
    Vision advocacy and direction
    Program strategy
    Program development
    Project strategies and reporting

    Capacity building and engagement
    Stakeholder mapping
    Stakeholder engagement
    Consensus building
    Community engagement
    Organisational insight
    Supporting organisational change

    Contextual research
    Benchmarking and best practice
    Documentation review
    Contextual analysis
    Standards compliance
    Market research

    Behavioural insight
    Behavioural research
    Human factors and task analysis
    User/usability research
    User needs definition
    People, place, service interaction
    _Mental mapping
    _Observational analysis
    _Behavioural and mobility states
    _Emotional modelling

    Service transformation
    Customer journey mapping
    Touchpoint analysis
    Current state experience analysis
    Persona and scenario definition
    Future state experience opportunities
    Service concepts and propositions
    Service blueprinting
    Organisational management and guidance
    Business case development

3

Thoughtful connectivity
Wayfinding & mobility

Creating physical and digital solutions to enhance the understanding of place.

  • We believe people become better connected to place through the successful delivery of effective physical and digital wayfinding services.

    We develop wayfinding and mobility solutions as an information overlay to bind journey experiences together. This enables people to locate themselves, orientate, navigate, and find their end destination with ease.

    We work across all modes of transport, journey stages, communication channels and points of touch.

    Whether it’s arriving in an unfamiliar place, changing modes of transport, locating your flight gate or biking a city's greenways; we design wayfinding services that aid the understanding of place and enhance the entirety of the user experience.

    Sectors: Cities, agencies and service providers within transport; mobility; regeneration; development; airport; parks and recreation; healthcare; heritage; and tourism sectors.

    Our services and capabilities include:

    Wayfinding systems design
    Wayfinding masterplans
    Wayfinding strategies
    Digital placemaking strategies
    Service and product concepts
    Service and system scoping
    System architecture
    System conceptual design
    Detailed design

    Information planning
    Naming and content strategies
    Network planning
    Location planning and placement
    Information and message planning

    Information design and EGD
    Conceptual design
    User experience (UX)
    Interface design (UI)
    Identity development
    _Composition and set-out
    _Colour palette definition
    _Graphic style sheet development
    _Illustration origination
    _Pictogram origination
    _Typography development
    Cartography origination
    Diagram origination
    Artwork production

    Product development
    Product concepts
    Product ergonomics
    Product specifications
    Prototyping
    User testing and diagnostics
    Procurement specifications
    Fabrication oversight
    Installation oversight

    System sustainment
    Design and legacy management
    Asset and GIS management
    System management processes
    System guidance and standards
    Production quality control
    System evaluation and monitoring

Our clients

We work directly with government authorities, transport agencies, mobility providers, airports, healthcare providers, business improvement districts, and venues.

We also collaborate with other design creatives, architects, and developers to shape better places.