Last night, a friend from out of town commented on his disorientation when exiting subway stations in New York City. Which way is North? It always takes a minute or two (or more) to find a street sign, landmark, or other orienting information. In some cases it means walking a whole city block to find out you’re heading in the wrong direction. I’ve lived here for 15 years and I’m still disoriented at far-flung exits where the streets all have names and no numbers.

In midtown they have do little kiosks at street level with maps to nearby landmarks. But this seems like overkill for mostly mixed and residential neighborhoods. So how hard would it be for the MTA to paint a little direction indicator on the pavement near each subway exit?

Hell, how hard would it be to take matters into our own hands? To start a guerilla wayfinding campaign?

To that end, I’ve posted a few free stencils here. I’ve tried to keep it in the MTA style — with the exception of the compass rose. (But then who doesn’t love a compass rose?)

Click the thumbnails below to download a 20KB PDF.

Update 3/7/06: I’ve deprecated the uptown and downtown stencils, since it occurs to me that this could cause some confusion with the subway lines themselves often referred to uptown or downtown lines.

Update 3/28/06: Using their own fancy, two-color stencil, someone’s taken it on!.

Branding for Nonprofits: Developing Identity with Integrity is just out from Allworth Press.

From the press release:

“In her new book, Branding for Nonprofits: Developing Identity with Integrity, DK Holland demystifies the branding and design process for nonprofits large and small and shows how you can use both to enhance the effectiveness of your organization. She discusses how brands are developed, how to find and work with good designers and other professionals who can work within your budget, and where to find funding for all of this.

The book is filled with real case studies that reveal situations in which nonprofits have successfully created branding opportunities out of dilemmas and rebranded to create distinctive and clear identities for themselves. ‘Brands are not just about logos (a typical misconception),’ says Holland, ‘the brand goes beyond tangible design elements to the core of the organization — to something more abstract and far-reaching.’ Branding works as an expression of the authentic values of an organization, it creates expectations, and makes promises to its primary audiences or and to the people they wish to attract. Throughout, this guide offers practical, creative approaches to help improve your brand and, in the process, become a more focused an effective organization. Along with branding resources and numerous illustrations, a handy brand glossary defines terms that might be unfamiliar to those facing the challenge of rebranding.”