During my time at The Climbing Hangar, I worked closely with the new-build team, helping to roll out six sites across the UK during my four years with the company. The most recent projects were Southampton and Bristol, both designed in a newer, refreshed style. My responsibility was to manage the wayfinding and instructional signage throughout each site, alongside creating and maintaining the brand positioning across the venues.
To create a functional environment, I produced comprehensive wayfinding signage packs for each site, along with a directional booklet and guidelines for post-opening maintenance and management. These signage packs included bespoke plywood information systems, wall and door directional vinyls, and a set of foamboard designs that could be easily updated when centre rules changed. These decisions were made to ensure that first-time visitors could easily navigate the site.
To ensure each site felt like part of the TCH chain, brand colours were kept front and centre within the climbing areas, while being slightly more understated in the front-of-house spaces, with subtle references through items such as photo frames and accessories. The front-of-house area was designed to feel more like a café and community space than an extension of the climbing gym itself, with the introduction of soft seating, community photography, and bold murals.
I was fortunate enough to commission murals from Nathan Evans for both our Southampton and Bristol sites. As a local climber himself, His work brings a strong sense of community to both venues, while also functioning as wayfinding elements within the Bristol site.
Each Climbing Hangar has its own retail area within the front-of-house space. During site openings, the retail manager and I would merchandise the products, while I was responsible for creating all labelling and pricing materials. We aimed for the pricing cards, particularly for footwear, to be as informative as possible, as the products can often be highly technical.