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

TWO TWELVE REDESIGNS THE FAN EXPERIENCE AT SHEA STADIUM
New signs, diagrams and colors refresh the stadium, make navigating easier and more fun

New York, NY, 31 March 2003—Two Twelve Associates, a New York City-based information design firm, today announces its redesign of the signage and wayfinding system at Shea Stadium to create a better experience for Mets baseball fans as of Opening Day, March 31, 2003.

Two Twelve's graphic design team created a fresh new system of bold, simple graphics to make key information more visible, useful and interesting.

"Revitalizing Shea stadium is a way of letting our fans know how important they are to us," says Jeffrey S. Wilpon, Executive Vice President and COO of the New York Mets, "The new graphics and colors build on Shea traditions with a fresh, updated look and feel."

Since April 17, 1964, when the Mets played their first game at Shea, the stadium has continued to be a place of dreams, a place where the New York and the world watch baseball history unfold. After nearly forty years, the wear and tear on the stadium have taken their toll. The new signage program by Two Twelve Associates is a relatively cost-efficient and effective means of upgrading the Shea experience in the interim.

"The new system makes the fan's experience of navigating the stadium easier
and more fun," says Ann Harakawa, principal of Two Twelve. "The place feels
fresh and welcoming, and it’s easy to find your way around."

During the past year, Two Twelve completed the program through a three-phase
process as follows:

1. Analyzing existing signs. Two Twelve had to figure out how to reuse most of the existing sign structures for economical reasons, but develop new graphics for better communication. The designers attended several night and day games last season to see how people were finding their way--or not--using the old system.

2. Identifying opportunities for improvement. Two Twelve visited and studiedcomparable facilities around the country to see what works and doesn’t work elsewhere, then recommended improvements and upgrades appropriate for Shea and the Mets. Then they established new standards for typefaces, colors and symbols to be used consistently throughout the stadium environment, from parking lots and subway approaches to stadium entrances, seating areas and administrative offices.

3. Designing a new wayfinding strategy and devices:
• Home Plate is the major landmark and focus for orientation throughout the
baseball stadium.
• Orientation Maps. Bright, pie-shaped, full-color diagrams of the stadium, its gates, seating and parking areas have been applied to the pavement outside the stadium, the floor within it, and on pylons and walls in strategic locations.
• Pictograms of ball players in different positions are featured on pylons outside each gate entrance (Gate A at left field has a batter; Gate B at 2nd base features a catcher, etc.) and on interior directional signs. These icons correspond to the well-known neon supergraphics on the exterior stadium walls and help people identify and remember where they’re sitting. At Gate C behind home plate, where a gigantic American flag was hung after September 11, 2001, the flag is used as the wayfinding icon instead of a ball player.
• Color-coding on signs, walls and diagrams corresponds to existing seating. Using an updated palette of blue, red, orange and green, the color-coding not only makes wayfinding simple, buy also brightens the concourses.

Two Twelve Associates has significant experience in athletic arena signage and wayfinding design, having developed programs for the Brooklyn Cyclones’ KeySpan Park in Coney Island, and American Airlines Center in Dallas, home of the Mavericks and the Stars. Principal Ann Harakawa and associate/project manager Patrick Nolan led Two Twelve's design effort.

About Two Twelve
Two Twelve Associates (http://www.twotwelve.com) is a multi-disciplinary design company specializing in public information design, the planning and presentation of complex information to diverse audiences. 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 offers a full range of services in print, interactive and environmental graphic design for corporate, institutional and municipal clients nationwide. Important commissions have included the design of the Census 2000 identity, forms and canvassing materials; signage for Radio City Music Hall and Grand Central Terminal; environmental graphics and marketing materials for NYC2012, New York City’s bid to host the 2012 summer Olympic Games; and promotions, event graphics and a web site for the Downtown River to River Festival 2002.

For further information, please contact:
Sarah Haun, Two Twelve Associates
212-254-6670

Kimberlee Auletta, RC Auletta & Company (for the NY Mets)
212-355-0400

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