To take advantage of a growing tourist population in the Niagara region, the administration at Niagara County Community college made the decision to relocate its popular culinary program from its suburban campus to downtown Niagara Falls. With the move, the college decided this was an opportunity to market the culinary program to students throughout Ontario and Western New York.

Cannon Design’s graphic designers assisted the college with the naming and branding of the new Culinary Institute – Niagara Falls. The primary logo symbolizes the look of the falls within the folds of an iconic chef’s toque. Secondary logos developed in circular and vertical formats, accommodated the multitude of applications from uniforms to plate and glassware, merchandise for the retail store, print materials, signage and electronic communications.

Concurrently with the branding process, the architectural team developed and designed the new home of the Culinary Institute, a 3000 square ft teaching kitchen and a 3000 square foot fine dining restaurant – located within walking distance of the American Falls.

Aiding in securing funds for their new university, Cannon Design created fundraising materials to garner donors for Ave Maria University. The challenge of then designing an appropriate tribute to 19,000 original donors presented the environmental graphic design team a unique challenge. The solution was the Founders Wall, located in the Canizaro Library lobby. The 48’ long by 6’ high installation was inspired by the design principles of Frank Lloyd Wright.

The graphics team conceived a layered, glass-panel system while working with a laminate glass manufacturer. Sandwiched between the layers is a clear, digital-film print with inscribed donor names, along with an earth-tone mosaic embedded with the words “Ave Maria.” The university name is clearly seen from a distance, while the subtle foreground pattern of donor names emerges at a closer vantage point.

Prominently located at the terminus of an interstate off-ramp, the Erie County Public Safety Campus is an important gateway to the City of Buffalo. The first component of the campus houses the critical functions of the regional 911 call center, emergency operations command center and forensic science laboratories. In addition to providing architectural, engineering, interiors, and construction management services, Cannon Design also developed wayfinding and external/internal signage elements for the state-of-the-art campus. Materials, fonts, and forms firmly root the wayfinding system in the complex’s architectural language while efficiently delivering the information necessary for navigating the multistory facility.

To assist the 125-year-old, top-ranked law firm with the design and development of its new branding identity, Cannon Design created new logotype, stationery, print materials, electronic templates, and signage. Century Gothic, a sans serif font that originated in the Bauhaus movement, was selected to reflect the sophisticated identity embodied in the firm’s newly renovated corporate offices. Interior design solutions for the 23,000 sf of office included a newly designed lobby, reception area and conference space, as well as an artwork program to enhance the public spaces.

In anticipation of the implementation of a significant program of renovations and new construction described in a new master plan, the Albany City School District asked Cannon Design to develop a districtwide standard for wayfinding and signage.

The new standard effectively achieves the district’s requirements for durability, upgradability, and ease of coordination with varying styles of architecture. After implementing the interior and exterior signage program at Sheridan Preparatory Academy, a new school designed by Cannon Design and the first of the district’s new facilities, Cannon Design worked with the School District to implement the new standard in elementary and middle schools throughout the system.

Campuswide Signage Program
Ave Maria University, the first all-new Catholic university to be established in the United States in half a century, adheres to the design principles of Frank Lloyd Wright, with campus layout and buildings employing fundamentally orthogonal geometry to create spaces of both grandeur and intimacy in a carefully shaped asymmetrical balance. Cannon Design, which provided planning and design services for the initial phase of the university and the accompanying new town of Ave Maria, applied the same Wrightian principles in creating the university’s campuswide signage master plan.

Encompassing vehicular and pedestrian signage, pin-mounted letterforms on buildings, internal wayfinding and room identification for nine buildings, and a design concept for donor recognition systems, the wayfinding program utilizes a palette of materials and graphic design elements that are fully integrated with the campus landscape and architecture. A visual standards guide specifying proper use of logo, color palette, fonts, and other components of the university’s brand system was also prepared to guide future expansion.

Following Cannon Design’s successful renovation and expansion of Meyer Library, Missouri State University commissioned Cannon Design to develop a comprehensive wayfinding program for the renewed facility.

To effectively channel the enormous quantities of information to be broadcast throughout the building, the wayfinding program utilizes a hierarchical system that disseminates information at key decision points as needed, minimizing signage replacement during periodic relocations of services and staff. The signs echo the “open architecture” of the renovation, allowing the user to see the structure of the components. Standardized sizes and fastening systems enable future revisions to be made easily and cost-effectively as the library expands.

The new headquarters of the Hauptman-Woodward Research Institute, the 73,000 sf Structural Biology Research Center creates a world-class environment befitting an institution led by a Nobel laureate. The $21 million signature building mirrors the institution’s commitment to innovation and the trailblazing research it pursues. Beyond the leading-edge laboratories, the building expresses a culture of collaboration, revealing the activities within to the public with architecture of transparency. The building comprises a three-part geometry of elements: a rectilinear, translucent laboratory wing; a curved office wing; and a transparent three-story atrium joining the two. In combining the purity of the square and the fluidity of the curve, the building’s architecture reflects the dynamic coexistence of intuition and reason that is the essence of scientific research.

Cannon Design developed an internal and external signage program that builds upon the building’s juxtaposition of solidity, translucency, and transparency, combining aluminum, glass, and Plexiglas components for an understated, elegant, and cost-effective signage solution.

Creating a commercial hub for thousands of visitors to this premier world tourist destination, a former retail mall was converted into a new regional conference center. The renovated facility offers immediate access to the urban core, providing 30,000 sf of exhibition space, an 11,000 sf ballroom and a 25,000 sf conference center. Detailed with a warm palette of woods, carpet and indirect lighting, the Center has become a catalyst for ongoing private development as part of a city-wide revitalization program.

In addition to full planning and design services for this adaptive re-use, Cannon Design developed a signage and graphics program employing a palette of materials consistent with the building’s interior treatments. Custom-fabricated screens facilitated the seamless integration of electronic technology into the design program.