Let The Games Begin!
Over eleven days in April, 2018, the Gold Coast was transformed into an international sporting haven as it hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games. 4,400 athletes and over half-a-million spectators descending upon the coasts sandy shores to play and witness great sport. The games were spread across the Gold Coast, with venues also in Brisbane, Cairns and Townsville.
The vision for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games was to host a fun and friendly experience for both athletes and spectators. As part of the Look of the Games, the brief set by the Gold Coast 2018 Organising Committee (GOLDOC), was to design a temporary, highly visible, identifiable and adaptable wayfinding signage system to be applied throughout the Games venues and common domains. This was considered a highly visible part of the Games operations and critical to its success.
There were a number of important efficiencies to consider for a large temporary signage system used for an eleven day period. Sustainable forestry certified plywood was used as a primary sign material and all signs were printed on 100% recyclable materials. Large signs were broken down to plywood panels and engineered bases were filled with sandbags as footings so that they could be bumped-in quickly with minimal skilled labour and equipment. Bus stops and crossing points incorporated bamboo posts as a low impact, low cost solution.
A fundamental principle in the strategy is the selection of purple as the primary sign colour to distinguish it from the Look of the Games branding treatments and for signage to be instantly recognisable in the landscape.
To effectively communicate information to Games visitors the Typeface FS Millbank was selected as the Wayfinding typeface of the Commonwealth Games. This was chosen for its ability to be clearly read at a distance. Working alongside the specially commissioned typeface of FS Albert Goldoc, Millbank was selected on its merit as a wayfinding font and its ability to fit chameleon like into the font family of FS Albert. Its rhythmic form, and legibility is now synonymous of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.
The Wayfinding strategy and signage system was a clear, coherent and responsible design outcome which was rolled out across Queensland for one of the largest celebration of sport in the world.
