The Notre Dame Schools campus in Chardon, Ohio, is home to a diverse community of learners and leaders—including Notre Dame Elementary School, Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (NDCL) High School, the Sisters of Notre Dame Provincial Center, and Notre Dame Village, a senior living community. Despite the shared identity and physical proximity of these institutions, the expansive campus presented challenges in navigation, first impressions, and consistency in visitor experience. Multiple access points, overlapping facilities, and uncoordinated signage made it difficult for prospective families, delivery drivers, and guests to confidently find their destinations across the 75-acre site.
To address these challenges, Notre Dame Schools engaged Guide Studio to develop a comprehensive signage and wayfinding master plan, supporting their mission to create a welcoming, unified, and intuitive campus experience. Through stakeholder interviews, site audits, and detailed journey mapping, Guide Studio uncovered opportunities to simplify navigation, elevate campus identity, and reinforce the brand’s core values of education, faith, and community. The plan proposed a cohesive family of signs—including gateways, directionals, trailblazers, parking identifiers, and building signage—each tailored to reinforce a sense of belonging while honoring the distinct functions and audiences of each part of campus.
The final design reflects the peaceful natural surroundings and legacy of the Sisters of Notre Dame through thoughtful materials, color palettes, and dimensional elements. Scalable and phased for implementation, the system improves visibility for key destinations such as NDCL’s athletic complex, the Bethany Retreat Center, and visitor parking, while also reinforcing connections between the schools and the broader Notre Dame Village. Today, the wayfinding program supports safety, accessibility, and a deeper sense of place, enabling Notre Dame Schools to welcome every guest with clarity, confidence, and care.
