We 💛 data.
And we particularly love data that makes the world more accessible.
But data by itself is only half the story. The consistency, structure and format of data collection is what makes real change possible.
That’s why we have been developing an Active Travel Data Specification (ATDS) focused around the needs of disabled people. The project will establish an open source framework and standards for active travel data.
We are really happy we can now announce this project and the fact that we have been selected for funding and support from @connectedplacescatapult as part of its Scaling Innovation programme with the National Centre for Accessible Transport.
Learn more about ATDS and why it’s needed in our newest insight article 👉 click the linkinbio.
📹 Image shows a simple animation with four labeled blocks – “Active”, “Travel”, “Data” and “Specification.” Arrows point to text that explains that active travel includes walking, wheeling and cycling, and that people need environmental information (data) to move safely and confidently. Specifications (standards for collecting and sharing data) can improve services for disabled people.
Alumni are a tricky but critical audience for universities to nurture.
Their networks, influence and endowments attract and uplift future generations of students. But cultivating relationships with them takes careful consideration.
Reunions offer a powerful moment to reconnect. The way alumni move, behave and give feedback during these events reveals more than you might think.
Using insights from campus map data, we’ve explored how universities can support this valuable group. Scroll through to learn:
🧭 How to build navigation apps with alumni needs in mind
💭 Why their memories matter
🫶 What wayfinding can do to strengthen connections
Or read the full article via our linkinbio 🔗
CASE STUDY | BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM - TEIL I
Ein Meilenstein am deutschen Firmenhauptsitz
Es gibt einfach diese Projekte, die eine ganz besondere Verantwortung mit sich bringen …
So zum Beispiel: Branding des globalen Headquarters, eines Weltkonzerns wie Boehringer Ingelheim, neu zu definieren.
Nach einer intensiven Planung unseres Teams im HOMEOFSIGNS ist das Ergebnis nun endlich auch für euch sichtbar: Der neue Look des Standorts Ingelheim. Der Wechsel von der langjährigen Hausfarbe Blau hin zu markanten Grün-Nuancen ist nun - als zentraler Teil des globalen Rebrandings - am Firmenhauptsitz bei Tag und Nacht sichtbar.
Die globale Vision war klar definiert, regional durften wir in die Umsetzung gehen.
In enger Kooperation mit der Londoner Agentur @applied.information.group haben wir dieses Vorhaben Schritt für Schritt begleitet. Von der ersten technischen Planung, über die Fertigung, bis zur Montage des großformatigen Leuchtlogos hoch am Gebäude.
Die Marke @boehringer_ingelheim_de mit unseren Produkten zu unterstützen und Teil eines globalen Rebrandings zu sein, ist für uns mehr als nur ein Auftrag. Es ist ein Highlight und erfüllt uns auch etwas mit Stolz, dass wir da dabei sein durften.
Vielen Dank an alle Beteiligten für den reibungslosen Ablauf in allen Phasen der Projekts.
- - - - - - - - - - -
Wie geht es weiter?
Wir möchten euch in den nächsten Tagen noch ein paar tiefere Einblicke geben. Hinter jedem Logo in dieser Größenordnung steckt eine "komplexe Reise“.
Schaut gerne mit uns hinter die Kulissen, kommt mit uns BEHIND THE SIGNS – von den ersten Entwürfen aus London bis hin zur Montage bei Minusgraden, in Ingelheim.
Stay tuned für Teil 2:
Planung und Technik.
Fotos 📸 von @cafassogiuseppe
#homeofsigns #corporateidentity #boehringeringelheim
It’s a great feeling to see the Boehringer Ingelheim logo now lighting up the skyline at Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany.
The installation comes as part of our project creating a spatial experience system that expresses their distinctive brand in the workplace, across worldwide campuses, offices and manufacturing facilities.
While the design of Boehringer Ingelheim's logo has remained unchanged since 1997, applying the new brand colours for its use as an exterior signage element required thoughtful consideration. The logo consists of 28 individual elements, so a collaborative testing process took place to ensure legibility and strong presence from a distance. By day, the sign is a rich, dark green – crisp and highly visible. After dark, its face illuminates in the company's bold accent green.
It has been hugely rewarding to be part of this journey with @boehringer_ingelheim , realising the physical expression of the company’s story and its important mission, from the smallest element, to the tallest.
University campuses often operate on ‘if you know you know’ wayfinding.
🔓 It’s considered a rite of passage to have to unlock knowledge of all the secret routes, weird building names and quirks of architecture.
But students shouldn’t need to be stressed about getting lost on their way to lectures or the dining hall. There are more important things to focus on, like discovering a field of study, finishing your thesis, or making a great first impression with a new group of friends.
Our latest insight article explores how integrated digital and physical wayfinding transforms the campus experience for students, staff and visitors, and holds long lasting value for universities.
Learn:
🧭 Why everyday mapping apps like Google Maps fall short for navigation on campuses.
😨 How a digital map helps reduce anxiety and improve access.
🎓 The potential for wayfinding to go beyond getting from A to B, supporting student's social life and studies, and building trust in their chosen university.
Read the full article 'First impressions matter' via our linkinbio.
People at Applied are curious and experimental.
It’s what drives us to turn ideas and projects that seem so complex they are unfeasible into real systems, like Legible London and Google’s global workplace wayfinding.
Twenty years of innovating has taught us a lot, but, until now, most of this exploration has taken place informally or within teams.
Our Innovation Lab has been established to further this work, give it structure, visibility and a shared direction. The Lab team has also been collaborating with @weareinnovateuk BridgeAI and Professor Diwei Zhou to broaden our understanding of cutting-edge AI research. These partnerships are helping accelerate our data-led initiatives and deepen our engagement with universities.
Click through for insights from Gabriel Sterling, Applied’s R&D Lead, on how to get impact from innovation.
Read more about the Innovation Lab via our linkinbio 🔗
Trillions of miles and billions of users.
Navigation apps now guide us pretty much everywhere on the planet.
Underpinning millions of these journeys each day is a colossal amount of data.📱 🧭
As we strive to improve the walking experience and increase use of public transport, we need to pay attention to the silent infrastructure that shapes our journeys: pedestrian data. For many people, poor or inconsistent information isn’t just an inconvenience, but critical to safety and their access to the world.
Claire Fram, Applied’s Director of Digital Services, delves into this world of pedestrian data in our new insights article.
She explains why consistency and collection of datasets is only part of the story – agreeing standards and a structure for this data is critical.
💅 Data schema development doesn’t sound as glamorous, or attract the kind of hype that other technology innovation commands, but from generating directions to plan our journeys, to prioritising infrastructure investments, digital representations increasingly inform real world decisions.
Find out why you should be aware of pedestrian data initiatives and how you can get involved in the article via the linkinbio 🔗
Congratulations to the MTC Regional Mapping and Wayfinding project team on receiving the Rider First Award from @seamlessbayarea and San Francisco Transit Riders (@sftru ) for the regional wayfinding sign prototypes.
🚉 It’s exciting to see the impact of our collaboration with Metropolitan Transportation Commission (@mtcbata ) helping transit riders navigate more easily and improving everyday travel experiences across the Bay Area.
A wonderful way to wrap up Transit Month 2025!
📸 Image shows protoype signs installed at Santa Rosa Transit Mall station
More signs = better wayfinding
Absolutely not.
😖 So, why is it that some places feel effortless to navigate, while others leave us turning in circles?
In our latest article Applied’s Spatial Analyst, Julie Maksimova, breaks down the science behind spaces:
🧪 Revealing how the concept of ‘intelligibility’ helps us create wayfinding systems that work with the environment.
📊 Sharing space syntax methods that are used to develop evidence-based interventions that make navigation happen naturally, instead of compensating for confusing layouts with more signs.
👀 Explaining how important behavioural studies and real-world observation are for ensuring solutions work in harmony with the way people perceive, think and move.
Read the article via our linkinbio 🔗
🛫 Speedy and stress-free is the ideal airport experience.
But as airports are getting larger, becoming more complex, and transporting more passengers than ever before this request gets harder for operators to fulfil. No longer just functional transport hubs, they offer passengers amenities galore. From shops, fitness centres and wellbeing spaces, to speciality dining and art installations.
For wayfinding to evolve with these trends, while better providing for passenger needs, core wayfinding principles should be supported by technology, AI and accessibility.
💬 Commenting in Airports International magazine, Senior Planner at Applied, Sarah Owen, emphasises that a well-designed terminal can guide passengers intuitively, with signage supporting the natural flow of a space.
She also champions the principle of progressive disclosure, ensuring travellers receive just enough information at each step to feel confident and in control, without being overloaded.
Perhaps most importantly, Sarah underscores our ‘design for all’ philosophy:
“We try to understand how different users process information and therefore how they would navigate an airport. This approach ensures that everyone is able to navigate safely and confidently, irrespective of their physical or cognitive abilities, age, language, location, ethnicity, wealth or access to online or digital tools.”
Read the full article on our insights page via the linkinbio. 🔗
How do you help visitors browse 5,000 years of art across a complex campus?
At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, our wayfinding system guides visitors through vast gallery buildings, underground tunnels, and external spaces, while supporting the museum’s dual identity: a place for reflective art appreciation and a welcoming, vibrant community hub.
Swipe through to see how the system has been designed to enhance navigation and elevate the visitor experience:
🗺️ Elevation diagrams
Wall directories and printed guides use an elevation diagram to illustrate the campus layout, helping visitors form a mental map of underground, horizontal, and ground-level connections.
🖼️ Collection imagery
Images of artwork from the collections are embedded in signage and the museum guide to spark curiosity, inspiring people to explore and discover more art.
🌈 Immersive tunnels
Underground tunnels linking buildings have been transformed into immersive light art installations. These create memorable moments that make journeys between buildings a meaningful part of the museum experience.
🎨 Harmonious design
The design solution is a cohesive system, blending in amongst contemporary and classical galleries. It utilises a minimal colour palette and simple typography to let the art and surrounding architecture shine.
🗓️ Spotlight on events
Digital and printed signs highlight rotating exhibitions and events, encouraging visitors to return.
🛠️ Custom signage
We collaborated with the @mfahouston and manufacturers to develop bespoke, flexible signage solutions tailored to the museum's needs.
We’re proud to support the MFAH’s important mission and look forward to continued collaboration.
🔗 Discover more about the project via our linkinbio #Wayfinding #DesignForCulture #MuseumExperience #VisitorExperience
