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| Society for Experiential Graphic Design | |
|---|---|
| Name | Society for Experiential Graphic Design |
| Abbreviation | SEGD |
| Formation | 1973 |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Region served | International |
| Fields | Environmental graphic design, Wayfinding, Exhibition design |
Society for Experiential Graphic Design is a professional association devoted to environmental graphic design, wayfinding, signage, and exhibition communication. It connects practitioners, scholars, and institutions across architecture, landscape architecture, museum design, urban planning, and graphic design, fostering standards and scholarship that inform projects at venues such as museums, airports, hospitals, campuses, and public spaces. SEGD's activities intersect with many organizations, firms, and events in the built environment and cultural heritage sectors.
Founded in 1973 amid rising interest in integrated design, the organization emerged contemporaneously with movements led by figures and institutions such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, Louis Kahn, and Le Corbusier whose built works influenced environmental communication; influential institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Modern Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, and Louvre provided venues for applied graphic systems. Early collaborations paralleled initiatives at universities and schools including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pratt Institute, Rhode Island School of Design, University of Pennsylvania, and Cooper Hewitt where designers from firms such as Pentagram, HOK, Gensler, and Perkins+Will worked on wayfinding and signage. The society's growth tracked with urban redevelopment projects in cities like New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, and Paris and with infrastructure expansions at places such as Heathrow Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, O'Hare International Airport, and LaGuardia Airport. SEGD's timeline includes intersections with movements and events involving International Council of Museums, American Institute of Architects, Royal Institute of British Architects, Institute of Transportation Engineers, and exhibitions like the World's Fair and the Venice Biennale.
SEGD promotes design that improves user experience in public and private environments, collaborating with organizations such as American Alliance of Museums, Association of College and University Housing Officers, Urban Land Institute, International Federation of Library Associations, and National Trust for Historic Preservation to influence projects at venues including Metropolitan Museum of Art, Getty Center, British Museum, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, and Centre Pompidou. Activities encompass conferences, awards programs, research, and advocacy that engage firms like IDEO, Frog Design, Arup, AECOM, and Stantec as well as cultural partners such as Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and Stanford University. SEGD convenes dialogues that reference standards and policymaking bodies like Americans with Disabilities Act, International Organization for Standardization, National Fire Protection Association, Federal Highway Administration, and U.S. Access Board.
Members include practitioners, academics, consultants, and institutions such as SmithGroup, HDR, Inc., Mijksenaar, Monumental Projects, Two Twelve, Apparel Arts, universities like Cornell University, Princeton University, University College London, museums including Philadelphia Museum of Art, and corporations like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft that commission branded environmental experiences. Governance structures mirror other professional societies such as American Institute of Graphic Arts, Royal Society of Arts, Chartered Institute of Building, and Society of Architectural Historians with volunteer chapters and regional networks in cities including San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Toronto, Melbourne, and Berlin.
SEGD contributes to practice through guidelines that integrate accessibility, legibility, and wayfinding principles used in projects commissioned by entities like Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Transport for London, Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, and Hong Kong MTR. Its resources align with standards from ISO 7010, ADA Standards for Accessible Design, Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, British Standards Institution, and technical frameworks employed by consulting firms such as WSP Global and Ramboll. SEGD guidance often references research from institutions like National Institute of Standards and Technology, Fraunhofer Society, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, and MIT Media Lab.
SEGD supports curricula and continuing education in collaboration with academic programs at Royal College of Art, ArtCenter College of Design, Parsons School of Design, California College of the Arts, and Savannah College of Art and Design. Workshops, webinars, and mentorships engage thought leaders from Denis Villeneuve-adjacent production designers to architects associated with Zaha Hadid Architects, Bjarke Ingels Group, and Foster + Partners as well as exhibition designers affiliated with Herzog & de Meuron. Partnerships and internships connect students with cultural institutions like Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Gallery of Art, Museum of Contemporary Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art.
SEGD's awards recognize excellence in environmental graphic design, honoring projects and firms akin to recipients of Pritzker Architecture Prize, AIA Honor Awards, RIBA Stirling Prize, Design Museum Awards, and Prix Versailles. Awarded projects often intersect with notable sites and clients such as The High Line, Grand Central Terminal, Guggenheim Museum, British Library, National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and corporate campuses like Facebook HQ and Microsoft Redmond Campus.
Projects influenced by SEGD principles include wayfinding and interpretive programs at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, signage systems at Amsterdam Central Station, exhibit graphic systems at Natural History Museum, London, orientation strategies at Stanford University, and environmental graphic installations at Sydney Opera House and Seattle Center. The society's impact is visible in collaborations with preservation bodies like English Heritage, ICOMOS, National Park Service, and urban initiatives such as Copenhagenize, Mayor of London planning programs, and transit modernization efforts in Tokyo, Seoul, Barcelona, and Amsterdam.
Category:Design organizations Category:Professional associations