Parcours signalétique du Mont-Orford

Distinctions

Discipline : Communication & Branding

Categories : Environmental Design / Signage, Wayfinding & Murals : Silver certification

To equip Mont-Orford with an efficient directional system, Studio Overall designed a comprehensive signage program: permanent, versatile, and unique, acting as an identity guide for the mountain, guiding all visitors from the parking lot to the Mountain's summit.

The concept is based on a "signage family." Rather than using catalog products, Overall created different scales of objects, one for each checkpoint along the route. Monumental arch or directional post, the object adapts to plateaus as well as rocky escarpments up to the 5 lookouts and summits. The graphic variations (icon creation and a coded color palette) transpose the Mont-Orford identity "Sortez en Grand" into material to create a visual hierarchy that ensures easy readability, even in fog or storm, according to universal accessibility & lisibility standards.

To avoid visual overload, associated with the duplication of seasonal signs, the challenge was to unify the system on both the summer trails and the winter ski slopes with a unique signage system. The project's innovation lies in its modular engineering. A custom telescopic post was developed to compensate for snow accumulations in winter and extend the height of the panels up to 36 inches. These supports allow for quick changes between two sets of panels that were developed for easy handling between seasons with a very small storage volume. The anchoring, via screw piles made by the Company Vistek into the rock, offers versatile installation on steep terrain without disturbing the ground. 

At the level of customer experience, the challenge was to reconcile the needs of local visitors and tourists over a vast territory, through a refined aesthetic also capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions. The use of raw local hemlock wood with a sawn finish, treated against the elements, is an economical and sustainable choice, creating a warm contrast that enhances the rustic yet warming and modern aspect of the place. Durability here is both material and conceptual because the system is also ready for future mountain needs, thanks to the creation of templates for future installations that were delivered to the Mountain's team so they can use it on an independant basis.

By extending it's global experience over four seasons, the signage route thus supports the development of the mountain's visitor experience, a regional attraction worth 70 million dollars annually, with about 500 weekly visitors in summer and thousands in winter. As stated by the communications director, the signage concretely enhances the experience and the project's success is confirmed by the increase in summer traffic, with the route having welcomed more than +63,000 visitors between June and October 2023. 

This intervention transforms utilitarian orientation into a true brand experience, where Mont-Orford asserts itself as a destination where design guides the user, from the parking lot to the summit!

The project in images