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Harvard Campus Wayfinding

Elevating campus navigation through a unified signage system.

Harvard Campus Wayfinding
Employer Reed Hilderbrand Landscape Architects (Cambridge, MA)
Client Harvard Capital Projects
Partners OverUnder (graphic design)
Role Signage system coordination + documentation + implementation oversight
Delivered Campus-wide wayfinding system (23 signs) + QR-enabled map access
Timeframe 2019–2021
Proof Implemented across Cambridge + Allston campuses

What It Is

A comprehensive wayfinding program created to improve navigation across Harvard’s expanding Cambridge and Allston campuses. The system includes Welcome, Orientation, and Directional markers — designed to be legible, consistent, and integrated with digital maps through QR codes.

Why It Matters

Large campuses behave like cities: people arrive with different goals, time constraints, and familiarity. Wayfinding fails when it’s treated as isolated signs rather than a coherent experience. This project created a unified navigation layer that supports visitors and daily users while respecting Harvard’s historic context.

What I Did

  • Managed client communication with Harvard Capital Projects
  • Coordinated with the graphic design team and partner firms (Reed Hilderbrand, OverUnder)
  • Developed design and construction documentation
  • Coordinated across disciplines to align content, placement, and fabrication requirements
  • Oversaw construction and implementation to ensure the system met project goals
  • Supported a system that blends:
    • Harvard’s historic context
    • A vibrant modern visual language
    • Physical signage + QR-enabled digital map access

Outcome

A cohesive, campus-wide signage system implemented across Harvard’s Cambridge and Allston campuses — improving navigation and creating a clearer, more welcoming arrival and orientation experience.

Key Decisions

  • Sign typologies: Welcome / Orientation / Directional for clear mental models
  • Hierarchy and legibility: typography + spacing tuned for quick scanning in motion
  • Placement logic: signs located at decision points and key arrivals
  • Digital bridge: QR codes linking physical signage to interactive maps

Reflections

  • What worked: clear typographic hierarchy + consistent placement logic across contexts
  • What I’d extend (if the program continued): a stronger mobile companion layer (accessibility cues, routing, dynamic updates) while keeping the physical system calm and durable

Gallery

Harvard campus directional sign
Directional marker at a key decision point on campus
Harvard campus wayfinding sign
Campus signage — blending modern visual language with Harvard's historic context
Harvard wayfinding signage
Orientation sign — clear hierarchy for quick scanning in motion
Kennedy School wayfinding
Kennedy School — welcome sign blending modern language with campus identity