City of Columbia

THE CAPITAL CITY

In 1786, South Carolina’s legislature sought to establish a new state capital so that the citizens of the state could benefit from greater political representation. Planners carved out a two-mile square in the center of the state, and Columbia was born. Today, the city has grown into what the original planners had envisioned as the center of government, commerce, and education and is home to the South Carolina legislature, the University of South Carolina, and an emerging cultural and social scene. 

THE DISTRICT MODEL

Columbia is a city of districts, and promoting and recognizing these districts was a key element of the new program. Extensive planning was required to design a branded system that clearly distinguishes each district; promotes the city and it’s assets; and seamlessly directs visitor’s to important public and historical destinations. The program’s common layouts and sign forms are personalized for each district through the use of district-specific accent colors and the prominent display of the district’s name. The modular panels are designed to be easily replaced or updated. We created and implemented our idea to use the backs of all the sign panels as an ‘urban gallery’ that promotes Columbia’s diverse character, attractions and ambiance. In the final program, over 100 carefully located and curated images are featured on over 200 signs throughout the city.

BEATING THE BUZZER 

The City had a goal of completing the program before the NCAA Basketball Tournament arrived in Columbia in mid-March of 2019. From start to finish the new program was planned, designed, fabricated and installed in just under 18 months. We achieved this goal by establishing clear milestones, and with great communication and assistance from all parties involved. Throughout the process we held regular meetings, presentations, and site visits with the Experience Columbia team, City officials, district stakeholders and SCDOT to keep everyone up-to-date and on schedule. We were fortunate to have a local sign fabricator Colite on board from the very beginning, and they were an active participant in the design and planning process, and proud to contribute to the evolution of this capital city.