Nikiszowiec wayfinding system
Nikiszowiec is a historical district in Katowice (Poland). Initially it was a coal miners’ settlement of the Giesche mine built on the land of Gieschewald manor (Giszowiec) between 1908 and 1918 on the mining–metallurgical concern initiative. The remnants of the original workers’ housing estate familoks (specialized multi-family residences) comprise one of Poland’s official national historic monuments and are tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.
We had the great opportunity to design a wayfinding system for a walking route in this place. Our role was to fit in the mood of the buildings. They were all built using brick (now in the brownish tone). And what’s characteristic – every inhabitant painted their window bay
in bright red colour. That’s why we have chosen a narrow range of colours: red, brown and white.
Each point on the walking route got a unique pictogram. They make the sights more recognizable and give a pleasant look to all information carriers. We also paid a lot of attention to the typeface choice – and decided on FF Chambers Sans by Verena Gerlach. In our opinion it looks great in large point sizes and has a unique look which emphasises the extraordinary character of the space.
