After the user has followed the primary call to action from the previous touchpoints, all that remains is for them to come to the mountain for them to redeem their physical pass. The way this works is that there is a main building called the Woodward Bunker that is right next to the Boreal Base Lodge(where people can buy passes in person and rent equipment) where people must go to get their pass.
Inside this building are some self service kiosks that simply require the barcode from the waiting email to be scanned for a pass to be printed and dispensed. The form the pass itself comes in is a special RFID chipped ID card, dubbed the "onepass" by Boreal.
Once the user has their onepass, they are ready to hit the mountain and they simply have to walk through an RFID scanning gate near the base of the mountain to get to chair lifts. Something really convenient about the onepass is that after getting one for the first time, the user does not need to go back to the kiosks for another one on their next trip to Boreal. Whenever a user will make a purchase from the Boreal site their onepass will automatically be reloaded with a pass or ticket. While this whole process of acquiring the onepass and getting to the chairlifts seems really simple and easy, it can be more confusing for people that are not familiar with the resort, as they will be getting a onepass for the first time.
Wayfinding signage can be looked at to make it easier for first time users to find where they need to redeem their passes and how to find the quickest way to the chair lifts. Environmental signage can also be used to implement Boreal's response to the events of COVID19. To ensure the safety of everyone that will be riding the mountain during the upcoming season, I recommend that Boreal employs some kind of signage that reminds people of social distancing.
Designing wayfinding signage was definitely newer to me that designing in digital mediums like email and landing pages, so to start off I looked online at what general styles ski resort signage can take up. Looking at some standard signage I composed a small moodboard that captures the essence of what kind of information is on these signs at ski resorts.
Almost immediately I noticed that much of the signage that is found on the actual slopes of the mountain or near chair lifts bares a striking resemblance to traffic signs we see on the road. The main colors used with those types of signs on the mountain seem to be yellow and blue, similar to road signage that warns people of certain things. I figured that using bright and vivid colors is something I should also utilize, since it does seem like the standard way ski resorts design signage. Some graphic elements of this type of signage I can consider using for my own signs would be the use of bright colors, an outline of the rectangular form, simplified/abstracted line graphics.
To begin designing specialized signage for the resort I had to first find out where I want to have these signs installed, as well as what types of signs to include. Below you can see the circulation plan of the resort, a plan that highlights where signage should be placed and where users will be going at the location.
The blue path represents the general path that guests would take once they arrive at Boreal. The larger building on the right is the Woodward Bunker while the other building on the left is the Boreal base lodge. I recommend having a large form sign for showcasing the destination of the Woodward Bunker as well as the Boreal base lodge, but in my design I will only be doing the Woodward Bunker since that is where new guests will have to go to pick up their pass. I plan to have directional signs posted about the resort as well to help guide people that have never been to the resort before. Those directional signs I feel should be placed in 3 main areas, the two entrances from the parking lot and in between the two main buildings where there will be lots of foot traffic. My goal is that by having these directional signs be close to the parking lot entrance, first time users won't be confused as to where to go to redeem their passes, providing a smoother experience that gets people onto the mountain quicker. Lastly I decided that any COVID social distancing signage should be installed near chair lifts, since that is where people are the most exposed since they have to sit right next to each other on the lifts.
I started sketching the directional signage first and the main idea I had for this one was to mount pointed signs onto a pole. The signs themselves would only read one main destination that guests would go to; either the Woodward Bunker, Boreal base lodge, or chair lifts. I planned to use metal as the main material for building these signs, since they are very durable and will last longer than wooden signs. Signs that are made with wooden posts could also take damage from the elements as it is a ski resort, so it should be able to withstand being in the snow for long periods of time.
Moving onto the destination type signs, I wanted to make them either hanging from the top of the entrance to a building or have it be mounted on. The existing signage at the Woodward Bunker is mounted onto a metal frame thats above the main entrance, shown on the left. This would make a good spot for the redesigned Woodward Bunker sign too as it would be the best place to display while it's snowing, and having the sign mounted would be much more secure than having a large sign like that hanging off above the entrance doors. The sign itself has some graphic properties that I want to carry over to my design, specifically the bold san serif type and bright yellow.
I tackled the covid signage lastly so I have a better idea of how signs are designed when thinking of ways people can socially distance at a ski resort. To ensure the safety of everyone thats going to be on the mountain in the upcoming season, I recommend communicating that people should practice social distancing when getting onto lifts. All the chair lifts at Boreal are designed to fit at least 3 people, but it would not be wise to have 3 per lift all sitting next to each other in my opinion. If people sit on the opposite ends of the lift they maintain a good few feet between themselves that can help limit exposure to other people and creating a successful socially distanced experience.
With this sign in particular I wanted to incorporate some of the abstract line art that was present in my moodboard showing off the standard safety signs found on the slope. By having a graphically abstracted depiction of 2 people sitting on opposite ends of a lift it provides a similar aesthetic to those safety signs and my hope is that people will listen. The accompanying message with the graphic will read "please sit on opposite ends" to implement social distancing.
I started sketching out an abstract version of a lift that had just enough detail so people would associate it with lifts in general. Ski lifts usually have a long part attached to the top that connects to the cable that goes up to the mountain, something that I had initially in my sketches but chose to leave out to further simplify the image. I decided to use the stick figure approach to drawing the people that would be sitting on the lift to stick with the simplified abstract theme. I also noticed that people are usually depicted in this style in most ski resort safety signage and even regular traffic signs. Incorporating that similar style I feel like it's effective in communicating a message in as little time as possible. The less details that are present to distract the person that's going to be glancing at this sign the quicker and easier it will be for them to receive the message about social distancing.
The main similarity between these different forms of signage include the color scheme of bright yellow and dark teal. The signs also all feature typography set in Helvetica Neue, a modernized font that's perfect for display or copywriting. In this case I'm utilizing only capitalized text to provide emphasis and professionalism.