City Wayfinding in Toronto

About this video

Description

In 2011, the City of Toronto initiated the TO360 Wayfinding Strategy as part of the action plan for the implementation of the Toronto Walking Strategy. The project was inspired and modelled around other international 'legible city' initiatives such as Legible London (UK) and Walk NYC (US). Over the past decade, TO360 Wayfinding signage and mapping have become ubiquitous across Toronto streets and mobility hubs, providing consistent information for residents, visitors and transit users. Juan joined the team at the outset and has been the Project Director for this milestone project that has changed the face of on-street pedestrian information in downtown Toronto and set up one of the highest bars for pedestrian wayfinding in North America. The project involved a wide range of disciplines such as graphic and product design, cartography and mapping, landscape design, business case, digital and accessibility, sign fabricators, printers, user research, structural engineering and specification writing.

Through this presentation, Juan recollects the 'soup to nuts' story of this complex programme and how each milestone contributed to a robust design solution reflective of Toronto's character and urban assets, supported by a sustainable governance and delivery model. As outsider to Toronto, Juan highlights elements of the current city context and heritage that informed the system design and the challenges of applying international best practise to the local context.

About Juan Rioseco RGD
Juan has over 20 years of experience as a wayfinding and information graphic designer specializing in transport and mobility. He started his career as a graphic designer and university lecturer in Santiago de Chile. He joined Steer in 2007 in London (UK) and since 2022 has been directing the firm's Design for Movement team in North America, operating from Toronto. Juan has successfully led the design of information systems, wayfinding strategies and guidelines for pedestrians, cycling and transit environments across Europe, Latin America, North America and the Middle East. His portfolio includes work for Transport for London (UK), Marconi Express (Italy), Haramain High-Speed Rail and Jeddah Metro (Saudi Arabia) and Transmilenio (Colombia). Juan has been instrumental in the transformation of Steer into a renowned international design practice operating from London, Toronto and Bogota. Juan leads the work Steer is undertaking for the City of Toronto in the implementation of the TO360 Wayfinding Strategy and continues working with local governments, architects, developers and some of the largest transit agencies across Canada and internationally.
Moderated by Angela Carter RGD

Tag

• Environmental Design