New Building, New Brand…Sodexo 2017
Wayfinding & Environmental Graphics
Branding Integration
Background
Sodexo Buffalo was consolidating three office buildings into a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility. The office layout was shifting from cluttered cubicles to a modern, open-office environment. Enhancing employee engagement and creating a workspace—along with wayfinding signage—that improved the employee experience was a top priority.
Working closely with Sodexo’s dedicated team and the project architects, we designed the wayfinding signage and environmental graphics to reflect the Sodexo brand, celebrate the region, and highlight employee groups.
Design Considerations
The new Sodexo Buffalo Service Center was intended to serve as a model for Sodexo offices around the world, so the expectations were high. We adhered to Sodexo’s brand standards for all general, meeting room, and conference center signage, yet had flexibility with the rest of the signage.
Transitioning from a more private, visually busy work environment to an open and minimal one posed a potential challenge—especially for employees who had been in the previous offices for over a decade. To ease that transition, we created large-scale graphics featuring local landmark photography, artwork by a Buffalo-based painter, welcoming Sodexo-branded walls, and tributes to the various employee groups. These elements helped reinforce Sodexo’s global brand and values while creating a meaningful connection between employees and the local community.
Highlighting the Buffalo region was especially important in the reception and conference areas. The building’s main entrance featured a striking 20-foot glass wall. However, several visitors had accidentally walked into it, creating a safety issue. As both a functional and creative solution, we designed a frosted vinyl mural featuring a silhouette of the Buffalo skyline flowing into the Niagara River and culminating in Niagara Falls. It resolved the safety concern and beautifully celebrated the surrounding region.
We were also proud to support the local economy by working with Buffalo-area photographers, metal fabricators, and signage vendors throughout the project.
Challenges
Managing the scale of this project—its many moving parts, materials, vendors, and tight timelines—required top-notch project management. One of the most detail-oriented efforts was designing custom nameplates for 600 employees, which included photographing a portrait of each one.
Sourcing and adapting various types of signage hardware to fit specific needs was another ongoing task that required creativity and flexibility.
Success
On opening day, the SVML team and Sodexo colleagues were chatting in the elevator foyer when the elevator doors opened and an employee stepped out. With a big smile, he turned to admire the floor-to-ceiling photo of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley, California, and said, “Wow, I feel like I was just on vacation!”
That moment captured what we hoped to achieve. The personalized, thoughtfully designed environmental graphics made a positive impression and helped ease the transition into the new space.
Employees from other Sodexo locations around the world were equally impressed and appreciated how the design connected the Sodexo brand to the local culture and community.
The main entrance, as seen from the conference center, features the Buffalo skyline and Niagara River spanning the full length of the glass wall.
View of the main entrance from floor 1 lobby featuring the Buffalo skyline and Niagara River spanning the full length of the glass wall.
Cloud wall in the conference center with photographs showcasing regional highlights of the four seasons.
View to main reception area from the conference center. Niagara Falls is prominently flowing down the glass wall.
Branded wayfinding signage on custom built stainless steel wall plaque in the conference center.
Private phone/meeting rooms within the conference center showcasing Sodexo Values on glass doors, branded wayfinding signage and large acrylic photos of notable Buffalo landmarks.
Wall map within the conference center showcasing statistics of the impact Sodexo has across the globe.
A welcome wall in multiple languages greats foreign visitors to the Landing Zone cafe adjacent to the conference center.
Meeting area within the cafe featuring watercolor paintings by Kim Cox specifically created for this location. Additional paintings were created and installed throughout the building.
Employees and visitors have the option of riding in the Yosemite Half Dome or ocean sunset elevator. Images wrap around three sides.
Stairwell wall graphic displaying Sodexo Values. Sodexo has been delighting the taste buds of thousands every year for over three decades at the world’s most prestigious cycle race, the Tour de France.
Highlighting Sodexo Services on a stairwell wall graphic. Sodexo provides catering and facilities services around the globe, including offshore drilling operations.
Floor 3 elevator lobby wayfinding signage and executive conference room entrance.
Full wall imagery of snack items greeting employees to the pantry and dining area.