Plymouth Monoliths

In 2014 Streetwise were appointed to develop and design from scratch a new wayfinding system to make it easier for visitors to navigate their way around Plymouth's city centre and Waterfront. The system was to be designed with the aim of encouraging residents to try new routes, see new places or share new experiences. As with every such initiative, the project commenced with a comprehensive scoping exercise involving us visiting the city and, as a first stage, meeting with the client, discussing their ambitions and clarifying what they were looking to achieve from a new system. We then undertook a thorough analysis of the area on foot and recorded what wayfinding elements were already in place. Every location where wayfinding had the potential to be introduced was examined and ultimately Streetwise produced a full set of recommendations - and a project budget.

Within the Plymouth programme there were two main elements, free standing monoliths in the street and free standing and wall mounted panels at car parks in the city. The monoliths had mapping on one side and interpretive material on the other. All design and artwork was undertaken by Streetwise, following a full brief from the client, going through several stages of proof approval prior to final client sign off.

The project included the installation of 19 double-sided monoliths around the city centre and information provision at 10 car parks. We had designed and specified the monoliths and worked with one of our regular manufacturers to produce them. Once the signs were ready we went on site to oversee their installation seeing the project right through to its conclusion.

The Plymouth project was managed by the Streetwise Managing Director, Peter McGrail. Peter has sixteen years of experience in running Streetwise and managing a wide variety of different projects, large and small. The aim was to build on the branding that was already in use by the City in its promotion and we aimed to and achieved a look and feel that made the degree of impact desired on street and to be consistent with the brand.