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Planet Word Graphics & Wayfinding - Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners
Planet Word Graphics & Wayfinding
Washington, DC
Sculpture - Rafael Lozano-Hemmer
Client
Franklin School Development, LLC
BBB’s signage blends with the exhibit graphics at Planet Word, DC’s inaugural language-arts museum, created within the revitalized historic Franklin School.
Planet Word brings language to life through revolutionary technology, interactive exhibits, and voice activation. In addition to overseeing the preservation and rehabilitation of the Renaissance Revival building, BBB developed a graphics program that included branded exterior identification and interior wayfinding. Signage takes typographic and color cues from the exhibits and applies these to building directories, directional sign panels, and gallery section markers.
In the main lobby, BBB realized the owner’s vision for language immersion from the visitor’s first step. Inlaid in the terrazzo floor is a constellation of letterforms that evokes the evolution of symbols and pictographs through to characters and glyphs of modern-day language. BBB also designed interpretive wall graphics celebrating the architecture of the building and revealing the history of former occupants, which include Alexander Graham Bell, who made the first wireless transmission of the human voice in the building.
