Big Car’s Design for Good program partnered with an array of interested parties and stakeholders to create signage for a people-centered, pedestrian walking/cycling bridge that connects the Garfield Park neighborhood to the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood (with whom we proudly worked with to create the massive Bates-Hendricks neighborhood mural).
Besides the aesthetic triumph that is the bridge itself, the centerpiece of the placemaking effort is the sustainable garden that flanks the bridge on the north side of Pleasant Run Creek. Every plant in the garden is native to central Indiana, and visitors are encouraged to take seeds from the plants to use in their own yards. Native plants are better for the environment because they require less energy input to thrive in the biome to which they have already adapted.
The signage was designed in collaboration with a team of biologists and horticulturists from the Indiana Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Indiana Wildlife Federation, and Current Consulting. A lo-fi interactive experience was created (in the style of Garfield Park vista markers) where viewers could rotate the outer ring to read about each plant in the garden, grouped by season.
Click here for more information on the Barth Avenue Bridge project. Photos of the installed signage will accompany this post when available.
