Woodruff Arts Center campus in Midtown Atlanta with white architecture by Richard Meier and Renzo Piano, a green lawn, and a colorful outdoor sculpture installation near the High Museum of Art – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

Atlanta, Georgia

Woodruff Arts Center

The Epicenter for Art & Culture in Atlanta

Project type

Environmental Graphic Design Wayfinding Signage Design

Project sector

Cultural Design Sports & Entertainment
Woodruff Arts Center building identification sign and wall-mounted directory listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

Project info

Client Woodruff Arts Center

Guiding visitors through Atlanta's
arts and culture campus

RSM Design was asked to create a new campus-wide wayfinding system for the Woodruff Arts Center, a cultural hub in Midtown Atlanta. The arts center brings together three major institutions under one campus: the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra stage, the Alliance Theatre, and the High Museum of Art. With buildings designed by celebrated architects Richard Meier, Renzo Piano, and Joe Amisano, the campus is as much an architectural destination as a cultural one, and any new signage needed to hold its own alongside that pedigree without competing with it.

The goal of the wayfinding system was to create a well-integrated design that harmonized with the refined white character of the surrounding campus, complementing rather than disrupting the architectural language established by Meier, Piano, and Amisano. Students, patrons of the arts, visitors, and locals alike regularly enjoy the Woodruff Arts Center, and the improvements were designed with all of them in mind, creating a more accessible, open space for the public to navigate, rest, and enjoy the campus.

Aerial view of dimensional "WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER" letters set into a landscaped berm alongside a walking path in Midtown Atlanta – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Wall-mounted directory sign listing Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art on a white facade above a landscaped groundcover bed at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

RSM Design designed a campus-wide wayfinding system for the Woodruff Arts Center in Midtown Atlanta, unifying the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Alliance Theatre, and High Museum of Art with signage that complements the campus’s architecture while improving navigation for students, patrons, and visitors.

Curved pylon sign with digital display and vertical "WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER" lettering listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Pedestrian directional sign with campus map, directory listings, and accessible route arrow beside outdoor steps leading toward the High Museum of Art, Alliance Theatre, and Atlanta Symphony Hall at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Directional pylon sign with campus map guiding visitors to Arts Center Way, elevators to parking, the High Museum of Art, and 15th Street valet, set beside a colonnaded walkway at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

Creating a system of simplicity

Pedestrian directional sign with campus map listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Hall, and High Museum of Art, beside a MARTA transit blade sign and outdoor stairway with ivy-covered walls at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Wall-mounted directional sign with arrows pointing to MARTA transit and the elevator to campus, set against an ivy-covered concrete wall at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Dimensional donor recognition sign reading "THE TOMÉ FOUNDATION, EMBRACE NATURE" set on a landscaped bed beneath a tree, in front of a colonnaded entrance at the Woodruff Arts Center – donor recognition and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

At the Woodruff Arts Center, donor recognition signage turns generosity into something visitors can see and stand before, a lasting thank-you woven into the campus that sustains art, music, and theater in Atlanta.

Service Donor Recognition Signage
Parking garage entrance with a "PARKING" wayfinding sign, circular "P" icon, and directory listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art at the Woodruff Arts Center – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Ground-level directional sign with a "P" parking icon and arrow, listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art, set on a landscaped berm with the campus visible behind – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.
Illuminated "WOODRUFF ARTS CENTER" letters on a landscaped hillside at dusk, with wall-mounted directory listing the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and High Museum of Art in the background – campus wayfinding and environmental graphic design by RSM Design.

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