Weren’t able to secure a ticket to join us in-person on 17 September 2026? The good news is that you can still buy a ticket @£40 to access all six symposium talk recordings.
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Last week the Sign Design Society and the SEGD London Chapter held their third symposium. We gave this iteration the theme ‘Positive Places’. We chose this theme in response to the overwhelming and relentless bad news that seems to be filling the world at present. We wanted to offer a counter-narrative: one that deals in optimism and positive outcomes. We planned this year’s event in the spirit of audacious optimism, and I think the event manifested that beautifully. Our six presentations all addressed the theme in their own way but seemed to build on each other while taking different approaches. Ibrahim Ibrahim, from our hosts, Portland, kicked off the event with thoughts around placemaking and how to create places that are authentic and where people feel they a belong. That was followed by Cannon Ivers from LDA Design who looked at the idea from the point of view of a landscape architect and how we can bring the natural world more deeply and meaningfully into the built environment to make it both more pleasant but also more climate resilient. Jessica Rose, from Rise UP / Plastic Free Thanet, talked us through how the people of Margate had come together to not only keep their beaches clean but to do so through a programme of public art that helps locals and visitors to think about our impact on the natural world. Wesley Mayer, from f.r.a., brought us back to wayfinding design and environmental graphics with some observations on how ‘soft projects’ rather than major works can have meaningful impact. Colin Davis and Nic Quinn from Sum Place spoke about how joy lives in the ordinary and how public art can remind us about the joy we can find in our everyday environments. And finally Luciana Mattiello from StudioMDA described a case study that had used environmental communication to enable greater engagement and belonging in the users of a building. The themes that I found threading their ways between the speakers were to do with authenticity, belonging, and meeting people where they are. It was an inspiring mix of perspectives from within and around the fields of wayfinding design and environmental communication. The event was hosted by Portland in the spacious London offices, and at the drinks reception afterwards we were treated to magnificent views across London from the top of their building.
Curious to know what the big reveal was? The Sign Design Society Awards are back for 2027!