Stevenage Town Centre
Maynard was commissioned by Stevenage Borough Council to develop a new town centre wayfinding and mapping system. We designed a product family and a visual identity which renewed Stevenage town centre’s unique local character and heritage, ahead of the large scale regeneration of the area.
The aim of the project was to improve the public realm within the town centre with high quality design to support the recent and planned improvement works. The system needed to be sensitive to being physically relocated, and have content which could easily be updated as the regeneration of the area progressed.
Maynard’s response was a holistic wayfinding system that celebrates Stevenage’s strong and unique local identity. The New Town’s legacy is synonymous with the first pedestrianised town centre in the country; an extensive and pioneering system of segregated cycleways, as well as a wealth of public art, all contributing to a distinct sense of place. This narrative was incorporated into the main totems as cues to the town’s history, through imagery, typography and engraved concrete panels featuring interpretations of nearby public art.
Both product range and graphic elements draw inspiration from the clock tower with its Dutch palette and Mondrian’s strict grids — our ultimate barometer for the town’s style.
The system also features a bespoke typeface. Inspired by store front and market signs dating back to the New Town’s inception, the new typeface embodies the spirit of community we aimed for. A typeface with a certain Stevenege-ness that had since been slowly disappearing from view.
