Wayfinding & Placemaking

Left of Sunset invited SUCHa to partner in concept development and art direction for the Washougal Town Square wayfinding & placemaking program. This project was commissioned by commercial property developer Lone Wolf Investments, to refresh the default signage program for a 48,000 square-foot, mixed retail-office building in Washougal, Washington. The designs presented supported an intriguing, welcoming & customized system especially for the Washougal community.

Through our collaborative Discover stage, we developed a visual narrative theme around “legacy”. The foundation for this was built upon the town’s name, Washougal, a Cascade Chinook term roughly meaning, “rushing waters.” Throughout the work, properties of water such as ebb and flow, movement, and reflection were used to allow the story of the town to unfold. Each of the 40+ signs and placemaking program showcase a different historical photo relating to industry and community. With our Support stage, SUCHa assisted in researching a century of Washougal’s historical images, courtesy of the Two Rivers Heritage Museum. SUCHa also assisted in the project’s wayfinding audit and presentation development.