MidTown Cleveland Wayfinding

People travel between Downtown Cleveland and University Circle all the time. Yet, they haven’t always recognized that the MidTown neighborhood is bridging the gap between these two metropolitan business districts. Despite the lack of awareness, MidTown features its own world-class hospitals, legacy manufacturers, leading businesses, residential housing, and amenities. The neighborhood has also experienced a surge in investment and economic growth.

With the responsibility of connecting districts and connecting to these amenities, it was essential to incorporate a signage and wayfinding program to build awareness of the neighborhood and improve the experience.

After developing a fresh brand identity, the community partnered with Guide Studio to create a wayfinding program to draw more visitors and support future placemaking efforts.

A brand-aligned wayfinding program would effectively establish boundaries and direct visitors to everything MidTown offers.

Through the planning and design process, Guide and the MidTown team:

•  Collaborated with neighborhood officials to identify primary audiences, destinations, and decision points throughout the user journey. Based on data collected by the steering committee, UH Rainbow Center for Women and Children, The Children’s Museum, Agora Theatre & Ballroom, League Park, and Asia Town were designated as the vital focus areas for signs.
• Leveraged the new brand identity, including the bright orange and grey color palette, to create a dimensional signage program with gateway and directional signs. The gateway design goes beyond traditional wayfinding elements and includes words that reinforce the cornerstones of the MidTown brand, including “Health,” “Family,” “Home,” “Innovate,” and more.
• Created comprehensive wayfinding guidelines and recommendations to support implementation efforts.
• With a functional sign program, MidTown could help the City of Cleveland establish a vehicular sign standard that other neighborhoods can easily adopt to foster a cohesive, well-connected city experience.

The new signage program takes the Midtown brand to the next level. It helps people navigate the neighborhood more effectively and promotes MidTown as an accessible, vibrant place that offers connections to people, innovation, culture, and amenities.