LentSpace program and signage
Client—Lower Manhattan Cultural Council
Date—2009
Print production—Linco Printing, GM Printing
Site signage production—Precision Signs
Artwork identification signage design with Adam Kleinman
Vending machines—K-Jack, Gardena
Various dimensions
Thumb developed the graphic identity, wayfinding and environmental graphic components of LentSpace, a temporary, free outdoor space for art and performance in lower Manhattan, to support the public nature of the project. Our work centered around a desire to keep the temporary use of the site apparent while developing solutions that recognized contemporary exhibition and performance aesthetics. The graphic identity combines the site's unusual shape in plan, ultramarine blue in a nod to artist Yves Klein's monotone works, and the ubiquitous circle of subway signage. This logo is paired with a stencil typeface that reinforces the transient nature of LentSpace.
A relatively lightweight, yet durable wayfinding system was needed for the space. A pair of silkscreened aluminum signs mounted to the chainlink fence greet visitors at each of the six entry points to the site, while white powder-coated steel signs, bent at a slight angle and sunk into the ground, identify each of the artworks on the site. Finally, a tabloid newspaper features the site plan, an artworks checklist and essays on each of the exhibitions in the space. The free tabloid is distributed on site through newspaper vending boxes located at each of the entrances.
