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Designing a Clearer Path Through the Wild
Challenge: The Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance needed a cohesive, intuitive signage system to replace decades of mismatched graphics, outdated styles, and inconsistent messaging spread across its 80‑acre campus. Visitors struggled to navigate the grounds, interpret habitat information and understand the zoo’s conservation mission due to fragmented visual communication.
Year
2024Location
Denver, CO
Solution: DI conducted a comprehensive, zoo‑wide signage audit, documenting and analyzing every interpretive, wayfinding, gateway, donor and operational sign across the campus. Working closely with the Zoo’s strategic, operational and marketing teams, DI developed a flexible “Zoo Standard” — a cohesive visual language that integrates the Zoo’s branding, mission and conservation storytelling into a modular, scalable signage family. The system emphasizes bilingual communication, inclusive design and thoughtful use of digital technology.
Implementation began with new entry signage, wayfinding pylons, zone gateways and colorful interpretive graphics for habitats, with future phases expanding across the remaining zones. The result is a clear, visitor‑friendly signage program that strengthens navigation, enhances learning, and unifies the Zoo’s identity across all touchpoints.
Future phases will continue this work across the remaining zones and incorporate operational and custom donor signage.
Creating Instant Patina
How do you give an entry signage a rusted look without waiting decades for it to accumulate naturally? You paint the "rust" yourself. This is a behind-the-scenes look at how our team coated this Corten steel zoo signage with a precise mixture of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt to create a rusty auburn finish.
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