Halloween Wayfinding
the problem
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Salem, Massachusetts was faced with an urgent problem: How to ensure social distancing for over half a million visitors during the Halloween season? Each year, the historic Essex St. becomes the national epicenter for the spooky holiday, hosting families, bus tours, and occult enthusiasts patronizing its museums, shops, and restaurants. This month-long event was the keystone of the city's tourism economy and took place entirely in the public realm, making it near-impossible to cancel or restrict access.
The Project
This project was conceived and executed by Creative Blocks, an experiential design studio founded by me and creative partner Lauren Smedley, as part of a year-long artist residency with the City of Salem. The City commissioned us to continue our safe distancing practices in preparation for the Halloween season. Additionally, they challenged us to increase foot-traffic to Artists' Row, an often-overlooked collective of artist and retail studios adjacent to Essex St.
Responsibilities
- Conducted public life observations to gain insights into pedestrian movement patterns in and around Essex St.
- Conceived and implemented a way finding system using custom built stencils and temporary spray chalk
- Measured efficacy of the system at destinations
The Solution
To facilitate safe distancing and increase foot traffic to other parts of the city, a wayfinding system of iconic halloween footprints was created to lead visitors between Artists' Row and destinations adjacent to Essex St. These footprints were created using Adobe Illustrator and fabricated using a Cameo vinyl cutter, and installed using temporary spray chalk. Each footprint was thematically linked to various destination around Essex St (see gallery below for details). Serendipitous moments arose to respond to place, such as diverting sea monster footprint into a sewer, or gradually transforming a human footprint into a werewolf.
the results
The wayfinding footprint were received favorably by the City, and were patronized daily by visitors. During installation, one tourist loved the skeleton footprints so much he requested it be sprayed onto the back of his jacket.