NJ Wayfinding Master Plan is now available on LuLu.com!
Order your Full Color Bound edition at:
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/new-jersey-wayfinding-master-plan/7577207
June 2, 2009
New Jersey has thousands of amazing points of interest and we're Celebrating them. Our new campaign: NJPOI... That's the Point! directs visitors to a great new map site that can help them discover what makes New Jersey the best place to explore.
View our ads:
PSA Video #1 Outdoor Activities
PSA Video #2 Museums
PSA Video #3 Entertainment
PSA Video #4 Arts
June 1, 2009
THE Final VERSION OF THE NJ WAYFINDING MASTER PLAN IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IN PDF FORMAT AT THIS ADDRESS:
Link: http://public.celebratenj.org
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January 12, 2009
NJPOI has a new look and new functionality-- Check it out!
500 Members by March 1, 2009
NJPOI.com is a community map based on a membership model where all points of interest have a stake in the game and all of them benefit by the promotional activities of the site. See our Marketing Plan update here.
Nominate your Favorite Point of Interest!
Tell us about your favorite New Jersey point of interest, why you love it and why others should check it out. Visit our home page to enter.
Add Points of Interest to the Map
If you'd like to see all of the points of interest you love best represented on NJPOI.com, contact us and tell us who we're missing. Provide the contact info for the location and we'll take care of the rest.
October 30, 2008
Key partner groups are encouraged to spread the word about NJPOI.com
If you'd like to see all of the points of interest you love best represented on NJPOI.com, help spread the word!
Destination Marketing Organizations (DMO), County Cultural and Heritage Agencies, Historical Societies, Arts Groups, Outdoor Recreation clubs, and County Tourism offices are encouraged to connect their POI groups to NJPOI.com.
Download this press release to distribute or post on your association website or include it in your newsletter so that groups and businesses you love and support can find out how NJPOI.com can help promote them. www.NJPOI.com
PDF
Word Version
September 17, 2008
NJPOI.com Membership Campaign begins today! www.NJPOI.com
Thousands of arts, history, recreation, education and other New Jersey points of interest are now part of NJPOI.com, NJ's premier Points of Interest map site. There's room for thousands more. Now is the time for points of interest groups to join NJPOI and showcase their attractions using their very own map page. It's easy and affordable. Learn all about Membership Options...
Download the NJ Points of Interest Brochure- PDF
September 6, 2008
The Wayfinding Master Plan is now 90% complete thanks to all those who've participated in the process and RMJM Hillier (Merje Design). To view and/or download the PDF version of the Executive Summary or the Full Master Plan, use the following FTP site link, username and password.
Link: ftp://global.rmjmhillier.com <ftp://global.rmjmhillier.com/>
Username: celebrateNJ
Password: wayfindingNJ
Username and password are both case sensitive.
Icons and Zones-- In a state as diverse and interesting as New Jersey, coming up with a memorable pattern of zones and icons for the first time visitor is a substantial challenge. Thanks to the talent and generosity of world renowned Iconographer, Lance Wyman, we're happy to share these latest Designs. For more information, read Icons and Wayfinding.
Wayfinding goes digital
A successful wayfinding system includes Internet maps. Learn about the upcoming NJPOI.com mapsite and how it will help make New Jersey's points of interest more visible. Download the NJ Points of Interest Brochure- PDF
Track our Progress since the Beginning of the Initiative...
Reports (PDF format)
Symposium Summary Report- December 7, 2007
Advisory Board Call Notes- January 16, 2008
Advisory Board Call Notes - March 4, 2008
Advisory Board Call Notes- March 25, 2008
Legislative Testimony Joint Committees on Tourism- April 11, 2008
TODS Recommendation Report to NJDOT- April 21, 2008
Steering Committee Notes- April 28, 2008
Steering Committee Notes- July 24, 2008
Steering Committee Consensus- September 2, 2008
Media Generated
Op-Ed by Marguerite Chandler and Karen Hatcher
Courier News
NJ.Com Blog-- Saturday, December 8, 2007
"Finding your way to historic New Jersey" -- Enter your comments
Saturday, December 8, 2007
"All signs point to a state finding its way" by Mark DiIonno
See Mark DiIonno's column in the Star Ledger
Sunday, December 9, 2007
"Group points the way to improving NJ signs" by Tom Baldwin
Asbury Park Press
Morris Daily Record
Ocean County Observer
Courier News
Many thanks to our Wayfinding Event sponsors:
A WAYFINDING SIGNAGE INITIATIVE FOR NEW JERSEY
Our goal is to have consensus by May 15, 2008 for
an innovative, first-class, tiered, statewide, Wayfinding signage program.
Scroll down for resource links
What is Wayfinding?
When signage works, it helps us move with confidence in unfamiliar locations. Because state, county and local authorities do not coordinate signage in New Jersey, it's often easy to lose the trail when trying to find a particular point of interest. The exception may be hospitals-the big, blue "H" is universally understood as the Wayfinding symbol for a hospital, and in most cases these signs lead you right to the Emergency Room door.
A successful Wayfinding program has the potential for making all our important points of interest as easy to find as a hospital without creating unnecessary and confusing sign clutter.
Why is Wayfinding important?
A good Wayfinding program not only reduces the frustration of traveling in unfamiliar neighborhoods, it also enhances pride in our sense of place by reminding us of the sites which give character to our surroundings. It makes business sense too. Tourism is a $35 billion industry in New Jersey. Neighboring states have already begun to enhance Wayfinding to support their own tourism. New Jersey needs to keep pace and be competitive.
New Jersey deserves the best
A first-class Wayfinding program creates signage that:
1. Enhances safety and reduces sign proliferation
2. Has symbols that are language independent
3. Reflects the environment the icons must function in
4. Accurately interprets the message
5. Is recognizable from a distance without reading words
6. Encapsulates the power of obvious symbols
7. Creates a unifying element and amplifies a sense of place
8. Uses symbols that are timeless
9. Interfaces easily with GPS in cars and cell phones
Why now?
The next 12 months are a prime window of opportunity that won't come again for another 10 years. The state's directional signage program has been in place for almost 10 years. In August, 2008, NJ DOT will begin accepting proposals to enhance or replace the existing program. A comprehensive, statewide Wayfinding signage program is sorely missing, as anyone who travels New Jersey's roadways can attest.
Why not just adopt a program from some other state?
New Jersey has some unique challenges. Many of New Jersey's recreational areas, cultural sites, historic venues, and other attractions (e.g., farmer's markets, zoos, botanical gardens and parks, marinas, resorts, ski areas, wineries) are not directly accessible from major highways. The current state directional signage program is a template used in 17 other states. Since Colonial times, New Jersey has been the most densely populated and culturally diverse state in the nation with a tradition of Home Rule. A successful Wayfinding program in New Jersey would involve not just sites within a short distance of state highway crossroads, but "tiered" signage that directs a person from federal, state, county or local roads to a destination.
How can this be accomplished?
The one year window before we're locked in for 10 years ends in August, 2008. Celebrate NJ! proposes to accelerate the process by facilitating the involvement of a wide spectrum of stakeholders, encouraging public/private collaboration, coordinating meetings to develop a process of consensus building, and forging a common vision. No one person or group singly can do what all of us can do easily together. This is not an impossible challenge, but an opportunity for creativity, imagination, and commitment. The first meeting of stakeholders, facilitated by Marty Bierbaum and the Municipal Land Use Center, is scheduled for December 7th in Trenton. The keynote speaker will be New York designer Lance Wyman, famous for his Wayfinding programs for projects that include the National Mall in Washington, Calgary, Albuquerque, , the Smithsonian Institution, the Olympic Games in Mexico City, Rockefeller Center, and corporations like Merrill Lynch.
Who are our partners?
So far, NJDOT, the NJ Heritage Tourism Task Force, NJ DEP, New Jersey History Advocates, the state Chamber of Commerce, Crossroads of the American Revolution Association, ArtPride, the Municipal Land Use Center, and the Community Foundation of New Jersey have signed on as partners in this initiative. Invitees will include representatives of many statewide groups including the NJ Office of Travel & Tourism, NJ Historical Commission, the NJ State Council on the Arts, NJ Audubon, the NJ Hotel/Motel Association, the League of Municipalities, the NJ Restaurant Association, the NJ Association of Counties, NJBIA, the NJ Campground Association, NJ History Advocates, NJ Parks & Recreation Association, and NJ Transit.
To Learn More, Visit these Resource Links:
Lance Wyman (Feature Article)
Lance Wyman's Website
NJ's Tourist Oriented Destination Signage Program TODS (Choose "Offices","New Jersey")
TODS Brochure (Current Signage Program in NJ)
Indiana's Wayfinding Program
Maryland's Wayfinding Program
Pittsburgh's Wayfinder Program
Santa Fe's Wayfinding Program (designed by Lance Wyman)
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) Wayfinding Guide Signing (June, 2006)
NYTimes.com "The Road to Clarity" article
Have you seen a great Wayfinding System in your travels? Tell us about it!
Seen some really poor ones? Tell us about those, too!
