WELCOME TO THE WILDZOO PUBLIC TYPOGRAPHYJORDAN HILL
THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
VISC 402: PATRICK DOOLEY
The Zoo is a wonderful and
magical place where kids,
families, and anyone really, can
come see exotic animals. There
are the big jungle cats, like
lions and tigers, long necked
giraffes and stalky rhinos.
Obviously, the animals and the
beautiful scenes are the main
reason people come around
to the Zoo. But, the text that
surrounds it is the backbone
of the whole operation. The
Kansas City Zoo is a big place,
and can be very intimidating to
find anything you’re looking for.
Luckily for everyone, the Zoo
provides way-finding signage
everywhere. There are big tall
signs telling you where to go to
find the zebras vs. the gorillas,
and smaller signs pointing you
in the right direction of the rest-
rooms or exhibit gift shop.
Hi There!
THE ZOO OPENED UP DECEMBER 13, 1909. THE FIRST ANIMALS TO
ARIVE WERE THE BEARS, FLAMINGOS, AND SEA LIONS.
Planning for the zoo started in
1907, and its gates opened on
December 13, 1909. The zoo
evolved slowly during its first
40 years, while it added exhibits
such as the Bear Grotto in 1912.
It gained more momentum when
it added a monkey island and a
children’s zoo in the 1940s. In
the 1950s, the Sea Lion pool,
African Veldt, giraffe house,
and flamingoes were all added;
and the zoo added an otter
pool, elephant house, and the
Great Ape House in the 1960s.
The early 1970s brought a dairy
barn, the Great Catwalk, and
gibbon islands. Approximately
twenty years later (in 1991),
after voting and financed from
a grant, the zoo expanded to the
current size of 202 acres, adding
Australia in 1993, International
Festival in 1994, and Africa in
1995. The opening of the Africa
section drew in approximately
40,000 visitors in first 2 days. A
new building was added for the
first IMAX in a zoo, the Sprint
IMAX Theater. The improve-
History
THE KANSAS CITY ZOO SIGN IS A MONUMENTAL 3D SCULPTURE. IT
HAS A SERIF FONT AND IS THE PERFECT WAY TO WELCOME THE KIDS
AND PARENTSS ALIKE
ments resulted in record at-
tendance of 700,000 zoo guests,
and 400,000 IMAX visitors, in
1998. The zoo has grown from a
small building and 60 acres to
a large, 202-acre zoo with over
1,300 animals. The Orangutan
Primadome opened in 2002
as a part of new management
when the zoo changed from a
city-operated organization to a
public-private partnership with
Friends of the Zoo.
The Discovery Barn opened in
2006 along with a short-cut
path to Africa. In 2007, an
endangered species carousel
was added to KidZone. The Zoo
closed the Sprint IMAX Theater
on September 4, 2007. New
admission gates to the zoo were
opened in May 2008 featuring
new parking and animals.
Extensive renovations of the
zoo began in late 2005. The
Discovery Barn opened in
2006, formerly the Red Barn.
It contains many exhibits, and
slides for children. Outside,
there is a Peek-a-Boo Tree,
that is fun for children to play
in and get a sky-high view at
the top of the tree, and like the
Discovery Barn, it also contains
a slide. The Promenade was
also added in 2006, which is
a wide path straight to the
African elephants exhibit, which
allows guests to reach Africa
much faster. The new entrance
admission gates opened in
May 2008, with an educational
center and a North American
river otter and trumpeter swan
exhibits. In early 2009, the
Tropics House opened behind
the Sea Lion pavilion in the 1909
Building, and the polar bear
exhibit opened in August 2010,
located near the entrance, in
the location formerly occupied
by stroller rental.
ITS ALWAYS NICE TO LOOK AT A BIG MAP LIKE THIS ONE BEFORE YOU START YOUR JOURNEY THROUGH THE
ZOO. WITH A PLACE THIS BIG, ITS EASY TO GET TURNED AROUND, AND WITH SO MUCH TO SEE, YOU DONT
WANT TO WASTE ANY TIME ON BEING LOST.
“THE POLAR BEARS ARE DEFINITELY THE MAIN ATTRACTION
THE POLAR BEARS DONT BELONG TO THEIR OWN CONTINENT, AT LEAST IN THE KANSAS CITY ZOO. BUT
THEIR NEW EXHIBIT WAS TOO GREAT TO PASS UP. AND THE POLAR BEARS ARE SO PLAYFUL!
HERE WE GO, MATES
WE ARE HEADED DOWN UNDER TO EXPERIENCE THE ANIMALS, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE SIGNS AND DESIGN OF THE AUSTRALIA EXHIBIT.
THIS
WAY O
R TH
AT?
IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO ME HOW THEY ADVERTISED THE TIGER TRAIL SO MUCH, ALMOST MORE THAN
THE WHOLE AUSTRALIA EXHIBIT ITSELF. AGAIN, WITH THE WAY FINDING SIGNS, THEY ARE USING THEIR
NEW BRAND WITH THE GREEN AND NAVY ALL CAPS TYPE, WITH THE CORRESPONDING SIMPLISTIC IMAGES.
Lions, Bears, and OH YA, Tigers.
The tiger exhibit in Australia
is definitely one to check out.
When I went, it was just about
feeding time, and the tigers
were hungry. The tigers were
not the only ones wearing
orange though. Throughout the
entire exhibit, this fierce font
looks like it was written with
the sharp claws of the tiger. You
can see that it was done around
the same time as the way
finding signs though, because it
has a similar san serif type face
for the “trail” portion of the
sign. This font exaggerates the
roughness of the “tiger” font
before it.
The sinage for the tiger area
is not all consistant, though.
There are older signs, like
the bottom right picture. You
can obviously tell that sign is
an older set up that has been
faded and used a lot. As you
can tell, the Kansas City Zoo
has definitely updated some of
their signs. They would not have
the time or means to replace
everything, so if it is still us-
able, then why not keep it. Its
very interesting to look at the
older designs compared to the
new signs. The older signs were
a lot more natural. They used a
lot of earth tones and the idea
was the signs would blend into
the environment. With the new
signs, they are a lot flashier,
meant to stand out with their
bright colors and bold patterns.
I noticed it especially with the
fierce “tiger” type and tiger
stripes. The idea has definitely
changed, drawing more atten-
tion to the signs and making
people want to walk over and
see what they have to say.
Tiger Signs
The tigers at the Kan-
sas City Zoo are called
Sumatran Tigers. They are
a rare tiger subspecies
that inhabits the Indone-
sian island of Sumatra.
Unfortunately, these tigers
were classified as critically
endangered by IUCN in
2008 because the popula-
tion was estimated at 441
to 679 individuals.
I am up in the air about
whether animals should be
kept in cages, but with this
sort of situation, I think
it is a good idea. If this
is a way that we can save
an entire species from
becoming extinct, then I
think it is a decent idea.
Sumatran Tiger
This part of Australia was by
far my favorite. It was not
necessarily the beautiful type
that drew me into this exhibit,
but rather that they allowed the
kangaroos to hop around as they
pleased. As you can see in the
picture to the left, I even got up
close and personal with one!
The text and signs for this part
of the exhibit, though, left much
to be desired. Basically, I am
refering to the lovely use of
Comic Sans on the sign above,
talking about the difference
between kangaroos and wal-
labies. I understand that it is for
the children, and it is a fun type
to use for that age, but there
are plenty of fonts the Zoo could
have used and gotten the point
across. That point would have
looked a whole lot better in a
Univers, too.
The rest of this particular
exhibit had the regular San Serif
brown font on a cream back-
ground, which looks just fine!
Curious Kangaroos
THE ONLY THING KEEPING THE KANGAROOS FROM HOPPING ONTO THE WALK WAY IS A LINE OF LOGS CRISS
CROSSING ALONG THEIR AREA. APPARENTLY THAT DID NOT KEEP A COUPLE CURIOUS KANGAROOS FROM
COMING OUT TO EXPLORE.
The sinage for the camel rides
is not all consistant, though.
There are older signs, plus we
have the newer green signs that
match the style of the way-
finding signs. You can obviously
tell that sign is an older set up
that has been faded and used a
lot. As you can tell, the Kansas
City Zoo has definitely updated
Camel Rides
some of their signs. They would
not have the time or means to
replace everything, so if it is
still usable, then why not keep
it. Its very interesting to look at
the older designs compared to
the new signs. The older signs
were a lot more natural. They
used a lot of earth tones and
the idea was the signs would
blend into the environment.
With the new signs, they are a
lot flashier, meant to stand out
with their bright colors and bold
patterns. I noticed it especially
with the fierce “tiger” type
and tiger stripes. The idea has
definitely changed, drawing
more attention to the signs and
making people want to walk
over and see what they have
to say.
Coming to this section of the
Australia exhibit was probably
one of my favorite parts. It
was in the middle of all of the
restaurants and gift shops and
it was just a wall of all the
quirky old signs. I have always
loved old signs and type faces
and would love to have some
of these signs hanging in my
room. I’m not actually sure why
they had these signs hanging
here, whether they designed by
Australian desingers or were
actual Australian products. In
any case, they are really fun!
Vintage Signs
JAMBO!IN THIS SECTION WE WILL LOOK AT ONE OF THE OLDER EXHIBITS. IT HAS SOME OF THE
COOLEST ANIMALS, MOST BEAUTIFUL SCENERY, AND THE TYPE IS PRETTY UNIFIED.
WHICH
WAY
DO
I GO?
THE ZOO HAS DONE A GREAT JOB ABOUT KEEPING THEIR WAYFINDING SIGNS CONSITENT. WHEN YOU SEE
THIS GREEN, CREAM AND NAVY COLOR SCHEME AND ALL CAPS, GEOMETRIC TYPEFACE, YOU KNOW RIGHT
AWAY THAT IT IS POINTING YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THIS ELEPHANT MODEL WAS PRETTY AWESOME. IT SHOWED HALF OF AN ELEPHANT LIKE WE WOULD SEE
IT, AND THEN ON THE OTHER HALF, IT SHOWS ITS SKELETON. ALL THE PLAQUES IN THE FOREGROUND HAVE
GREAT FACTS ABOUT THE ELEPHANTS ANATOMY TOO.
The elephant exhibit was a great
time. It had all these stone
slabs with text on top that
looked great with its surround-
ings. Of course, the exhibit also
had to have the cream sign with
the burgandy lettering on it!
Unfortunately the elephants
were not out to play that day. I
was so bummed because they
are one of my favorite animals.
But there was this really cool
part of the elephant exhibit that
housed a life size model of an
elephant and talked about its
anatomy. So I guess that is the
next best thing.
Where are the elephants?
This hand written type is one of
the first things you see when
you walk into the main area of
the Africa exhibit. These signs
ae pretty warn, almost to the
point where you can not read
the sign unless you go right up
to the wall and try and read it.
It is a clever idea for the Zoo,
because it sets the light and
playful mood of Africa for the
people who come to see it.
There are fun facts about what
languages are spoken in Africa,
along with a large scale sign
with the word “Jambo” on it,
which means Hi.
The rest of the signs are talking
about what is in the shopping
center, including gift shops,
restaurants and a theatre.
Handy Hand Written Signs
“EASTERN BLACK RHINOCEROS”
THIS WAY TO THE RHINO ARENA. ONCE YOU SEE THIS FRISKY LITTLE FELLOW RUNNING AROUND HIS DIRT PIN, YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT HIS
NATURAL HABITAT, HIS SCIENTIFIC NAME AND ABOUT THE SIZE OF HIS KIDS.
This sign to the left is
all around the African
exhibit. It is beige and
brown, very natural and
blends in with the forest
environment. The type
is very easy to read, and
even has the translation in
spanish. There are great
pictures and maps on all
of the signs that let people
visualize what they are
reading. These signs are
very educational, which is
perfect for the kids!
Signs
This hand written type is one of
the first things you see when
you walk into the main area of
the Africa exhibit. These signs
ae pretty warn, almost to the
point where you can not read
the sign unless you go right up
to the wall and try and read it.
It is a clever idea for the Zoo,
because it sets the light and
playful mood of Africa for the
people who come to see it.
There are fun facts about what
languages are spoken in Africa,
along with a large scale sign
with the word “Jambo” on it,
which means Hi.
The rest of the signs are talking
about what is in the shopping
center, including gift shops,
restaurants and a theatre.
Built for Speed
The Zoo can be a great place
and offers great opportunities
for kids and adults alike to
learn and see animals they
might not ever get another
chance to see. There are even
animals there that were
rescued from mothers that
abandoned them, like the
seals, or from extinction, like
the tigers. There are all types
of beautiful animals to see
there, and its a great place to
escape for a day.
http://www.kansascityzoo.org/
http://www.kansascity.com/2013/10/25/4577263/penguin-fans-flock-to-new-exhibit.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Zoological_Park
“The Value of the Narrative in the Education of a Typographer” by Chris Myers
Works Cited
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