Floor Labels for Parking Garages
The core of the Parking Department's universal signage concept is a unified set of colors and icons, along with a small set of of typefaces.
The Early Garage is the most modern and well designed. It has significant architectural features using color. This keeps costs down by building on the strongest, most complex garage’s system. The other garages have minimal or no signage, or easily repaint-able signage.
The main garage numerals use the Helvetica typeface from the Early for matching purposes. Everything else uses the city standard, Futura.
Creating iconograhy and signage for a city like Lowell is complex, as there is a multigeneration perception of the city, and everyone has different measurement of recognize-ability for the environment around them. We have created a mixture we feel highlights industrial history while bringing in more modern occurrences and cultural trends.
While grounded in realism, we wanted to keep these playfully abstract and include easter eggs for those who may be more well-researched.
Floor “names” are kept to one-word where possible as it is more simple to remember and feels stronger, and also helps keep the icon simple.
The icons are made to have similiar line weights where possible. This helps them hang together. This also keeps them to a similar level of detail.
They are also matched by color to help tie them to what they represent. Orange for the dome of the Acre's Greek church & green for a park are examples.
B: Turbine
This is another throwback icon, pulling from Lowell Heritage State Park. It was designed by Michael Sand. We chose this as it is one older residents would recognize – turbines are also typically located in the basement in a “turbine pit” – there is only one basement-level parking floor in the system.
1. Shedd
Shedd Park is one of the largest parks in the city, and also has a really interesting architectural element at the front. The negative space make a tree trunk between them. Green is a very “park”-y color.
2. Bayon
This is a more recent addition to the Cambodiatown district. This is a large statue across from Pailin Plaza and is meant to serve as a gateway.
3. Fest
his shows a banjo (more folksy than a guitar) with abstract musical bars coming out. It also has what can be either a pierogi or empanada. This is meant to highlight the city’s many festivals, including Folk Fest.
4. Francis
This is on the border of the Acre & Highlands. It has saved the city several times from floods, and is a very distinct structure. It is kind of out of the way foot-traffic wise so maybe a deeper cut, but still something worth highlighting.
5. Acre
This shows the Greek church’s dome behind the Irish church’s steeple. calls back to those founding the area. Orange is pretty close to the dome’s gold color.
6. Canal
This is the logo used by “The Lowell Team" in 1976-8 to plan the Lowell NHP and get it approved by Congress. This is largely symbolic as it overlooks the Tsongas Arena, named after a father of Lowell NHP, Paul Tsongas, and the Boott Mills which is one of the park’s tentpole locations. These are the only two sixth floors in the current garages.