Contact: Sarah Haun
Two Twelve Associates
902 Broadway
New York, NY 10010
212 254 6670
212 254 6614 fx
shaun@twotwelve.com

SEGD CHARLOTTE/CAROLINA CHAPTER TO HOST PRESENTATION OF CHARLOTTE UPTOWN WAYFINDING SYSTEM FEATURING TWO TWELVE PRINCIPAL DAVID GIBSON

Mr. Gibson to Host First Public Signing of The Wayfinding Handbook Just Released by Princeton Architectural Press

New York, NY, 12 February 2009
Today the Charlotte/Carolina chapter of SEGD (formerly the Society of Environmental Graphic Designers) announces "Extraordinary Collaboration: Charlotte Uptown Wayfinding Program From Vision to Implementation," a special event to be held on Wednesday, 25 February 2009.

A presentation and panel discussion including David Gibson, founding principal of Two Twelve Associates, Inc., will focus on the creation of the new public sign systems for the Uptown district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The panel will be moderated by Kirk Lohry of DAWA Inc., and will also include Howard Landers of the Charlotte Department of Transportation, Chuck Johnson of HNTB, John Cox of Signs Etc., and Fred Burchett of Kimley Horn, all of whom collaborated on the wayfinding program with Mr. Gibson.

In addition to participating in the presentation and panel discussion, Mr. Gibson will sign copies of The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places, newly released by Princeton Architectural Press on 9 February 2009.

"As with all of Two Twelve's projects, the Charlotte Uptown Wayfinding Program has been a group effort involving the hard work and cooperation of many talented individuals who are committed to enhancing public experience," says Mr. Gibson. He has been the director of the design effort for the Charlotte program since The City of Charlotte contracted his firm in 2005 to plan, design, and oversee the installation of a comprehensive wayfinding system with both pedestrian and vehicular components. The first phase of pedestrian-oriented signage is now installed in Uptown. Planning and design are underway for coordinated vehicular signs for both freeways and city streets.

The presentation will reveal the complex planning, design and implementation process undertaken to create the pedestrian wayfinding signage program, and unveil the first glimpses of complementary vehicular sign systems. After this overview, there will be a panel discussion/question & answer session including the key players in the design process as well as Jim Kimbler, Transportation Planner for the City of Charlotte, who led the City's client team.

The SEGD event will begin at 5:30 PM at the Charlotte Trolley Powerhouse Museum at 1507 Camden Road in in Charlotte's Historic South End, and feature a reception with refreshments and door prizes, the project presentation, panel discussion, and book signing. Copies of The Wayfinding Handbook will be on sale at a discounted price exclusively for this event.

About Two Twelve Two
Two Twelve (http://www.twotwelve.com) is a graphic design firm that seeks sustainable solutions to problems of wayfinding, information and visioning. David Gibson founded Two Twelve in 1980, and he and his partner Ann Harakawa presently run the firm's New York-based operation. Two Twelve specializes in the planning and presentation of complex information to diverse audiences. Important commissions have included the design of signage and wayfinding systems for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina; Downtown Brooklyn, New York; Downtown Baltimore, Maryland; the Yale University campus in New Haven, CT; and the renovated Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

About David Gibson
David Gibson is an internationally recognized and published pioneer in the field of public information design. As the co-founder and managing principal of Two Twelve Associates, Inc., in New York City, David has always believed in the power of design to transform public space and people's awareness. His leadership on programs for the Chicago Park District, the Partnership for Downtown Baltimore, and Sound Transit in Washington State are just a few examples of his commitment to making the public his most important client. Whether he is working for a major city like Chicago, an important institution like Princeton University or a leading organization like Massachusetts General Hospital, David and his team bring beauty, clarity, and inspiration to Two Twelve's work in wayfinding and signage planning and design. David has an intimate understanding of how the public experiences design and is sensitive to the longing we all have for sacred places. That's why he was chosen to design new signage systems to help reinvigorate some of New York City's most beloved landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall, Central Synagogue, and the New Amsterdam Theatre. David studied architecture at Cornell University before earning his MFA at Yale. For him, design and architecture are always in dialogue. He helped spearhead the development of the first disability-aware design guidelines for the Society for Environmental Graphic Designers (SEGD) in response to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He served as both a past president and board member of SEGD, recently completed a three-year term on the National Board of the AIGA (formerly American Institute of Graphic Arts), and co-chaired AIGA's Aspen Design Summit in 2006. He keeps in touch with the next generation of design leaders through teaching and speaking engagements around the world. A passionate advocate for his field, David has also served as a consultant to the National Endowment for the Arts and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. He is author of The Wayfinding Handbook: Information Design for Public Places, published by Princeton Architectural Press in 2009 as part of its popular Design Briefs series.

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