Frost*
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Fine tuning the movement of people is the complex science of way finding and cognitive mapping, it's what makes a place inherently functional. Urbanite's Environments Design Director, Maria Briganti explains ...

Destination marketing has become integral to the success of countries, cities and places. It’s necessary for destinations to communicate what makes them great. But what makes a destination great? Is it the food? Natural landmarks? Nightlife? A great place to raise kids? Quirky locals? Whatever it is, the branding of a destination is a promise of its value—and to truly be successful, it’s a promise that needs to be kept.

In November 2009 Vince Frost was approached by Woolworths South Africa (a vast retail company and department store in the vein of Marks & Spencer, with 400 locations and 20,000 employees), to reposition the country’s leading retail brand and to evolve, implement and oversee the new brand identity produced by Massimo Vignelli.

We chat with Ronni Kahn, Australian social entrepreneur, best known for founding the food rescue charity, OzHarvest.

Dr. Dean Ornish, Professor of Medicine at the University of California and founder of the Preventative Medicine Institute in the U.S., in a 1993 study took 33 patients with severely clogged arteries, helped them quit smoking and adopt a strict low-calorie, vegetarian diet.

Carlo Giannasca, Head of Urbanite, chats with the Chief Executive Officer of the Committee for Sydney, Dr. Tim Williams.

And once orientated, how do we engage with its purpose? Facilitating the movement of people from one area to another may sound simple. Add some arrows and other directional graphics and, presumably, we’re done. Well, not quite. Wayfinding is a science to orientate people within a space—it’s really about how and why we move and make the decisions we do.

How we behave is the direct result of both how we think and our emotional response to particular activities. Exercising for instance, is a common example where we might have a willing and capable body, but an unmotivated or uninspired mind. Provoking the mind to react physically takes a lot more than just telling it what to do. The approach needs to resonate with people on any number of levels—emotionally, spiritually and physically.

Cavemen evolved a sensitivity to their surroundings in order to survive, to avoid being hunted, trampled or frozen to death. Despite the fact that we no longer have those problems, it’s instinctive to seek out environments with certain qualities.