When Hurricane Sandy hit New York in October 2012, the city’s 14 miles of beaches took the brunt of the storm’s fury. As part of a major restoration to reopen the parks in time for the 2013 summer season, we created a program of environmental graphics that welcomed New Yorkers back to their beaches. We wanted the signage to capture the charm and the romance of the beach.

The new identification signs each feature a photograph taken at the exact spot where the sign is located, reminding residents and visitors that whatever Sandy took away, the beauty of the beaches remains. The signs are accompanied by highly visible markers affixed to the stanchions of the destroyed boardwalks, now repurposed as supports for a seawall. The stanchions are painted bright yellow at access points through the wall, so visitors can easily find entry and exit points along the beach. We also created supergraphics for a series of “pods,” modular structures that contain comfort stations, lifeguard stations and other facilities. Exteriors of four temporary concrete “islands” at Rockaway Beach have been painted with their corresponding street numbers and bright, colorful maps of the surrounding area.

Read the full case study with juror comments here: [http://www.aiga.org/case-study-nyc-beaches/]

“I found it so refreshing to see these types of municipal touch points actually designed. I love the typographic and formatting nod to New York City's classic subway signage.” —Joe Gebbia