Theatre Row resides in a 100 year-old tenement building that houses five theaters, studios and office space. Our design problem was to develop a primary wayfinding system that would use the central stair as the organizing principle for wayfinding. We already knew that this stairwell was a high-traffic artery for both theatergoers and Theatre Row staff. It was used to deliver folks right into the heart of the THEATER. One of the most important parts of our design process was to figure out which tools we could use to help our team predict the true visual impact of these graphics in the space. Especially as a person navigated the stairs to their destination. We ultimately used a combination of mockups, 3D models and full-scale paper mockups in the field. The design questions primarily circled around: 1) How much disruption in the pattern can a person handle? 2) Would folks get overwhelmed… even dizzy? And 3) How did color help or hinder? Ultimately, we landed on a system of “mixed-directional” stripes – that would have a visual relationship to each floor. The stripes are clearly changing in weight as you go from the ground floor up to the top floor. And expand into horizontal “ribbons” interact with the railing system of the stairwell. This ribbon system helps orient visitors as they navigate their way to the theaters, the lounge and the restroom. The color red was used to identify where you are in space. Since the public restrooms are only located on 2 floors…. Knowing where you are and how to get back to your seat before curtain… is paramount!