Abington Art Center makes its home in a 27-acre sculpture garden in Jenkintown, PA. Historic Alverthorpe Manor is the primary indoor facility for the center, which provides art instruction, exhibitions, and art education programs. It also is a destination for weddings and special events. Since its founding in 1939, Abington Art Center has grown into a premier cultural campus for suburban Philadelphia.
In an ongoing relationship with Abington Art Center, Jack Hulme Design has completed a series of wayfinding, signage development, and print graphic design projects.
The orientation area at Abington Art Center is an outdoor room carved from an abandoned courtyard. The center assembled a team including Metcalfe Architecture + Design, Jack Hulme Design, landscape architect M.L. Baird & Co., and furniture designer Jack Larimore to collaboratively develop a creative and cohesive arrival area. The space is an extension of the center’s other exhibit areas, introducing visitors to the facility and grounds. It features abstract, sculptural outdoor furniture, clear directional information, and a welcoming sense of arrival.
Orientation area wayfinding and signage were designed to provide information, encourage exploration, and present a good first impression. Signage design was challenging because the space serves a variety of functions, caters to adults and children, is visited during the day and night, and must entice hesitant visitors into the wooded sculpture grounds. Signage was developed based on visual cues to the outdoors. Acrylic graphic panels feature embedded natural foliage. The signs permit views of the surrounding property and create a strong visual effect. Perforated metal panels are illuminated by LED lights, dramatizing evening events and allowing sign information to be read when surrounding lighting is weak.
A campus-wide Wayfinding Master Plan for phased future implementation gave the center a comprehensive evaluation of campus wayfinding and a strategic plan for improvements. Phase I improvements associated with the orientation area included updated pathways throughout the sculpture park, new orientation maps, and wayfinding signs and kiosks similar to those in the orientation area. Future phases will include signs based on sensory wayfinding – using the five senses as a guide to navigating the campus. The solution breaks the campus into zones based on geography – meadow, woods, etc. – and features signage that is both experiential and visual. For example, meadow signs may include a concealed wind chime to reflect the sound of wind through meadow grasses. The creative approach to signage will enhance, but not compete with, the center’s environment and its artwork. It also will reinforce the natural imagery and concepts introduced in the orientation area.
In an important but underused area of Abington Art Center’s property, the landscape was reshaped into a pocket garden linking the center’s pathways with adjacent Jenkintown Borough. On this high-profile corner, new signage, walkways, walls, and plantings create a welcoming environment. Jack Hulme Design was part of the design team for this effort. Brushed aluminum gabions filled with strata of local schist are designed as a series of low walls. A decorative vein of translucent glass running through the walls adds visual interest. As this corner of the park develops into a primary entry point, special events signage and banners will be developed.
Jack Hulme Design also created a series of print mailers, marketing pieces, and temporary signage for use in fund-raising and general promotional efforts. Committed to serving the ongoing needs of the center, Jack Hulme Design provides assistance with other print materials on an as-needed basis.
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