Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort
Wayfinding signage system transforms navigation at a historic Adirondack retreat in Lake Placid, NY
Nestled on the shores of Mirror Lake, the Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort is a women-owned family business in Lake Placid, New York. The waterfront resort offers 165 guest rooms and suites to choose from, with indoor amenities including a pool, fitness center, meeting rooms, banquet rooms, and a full-service restaurant.
The resort owners found OW|EN, the OtherWisz Environmental Brand Design division, through a Google search. Impressed by our wayfinding and signage work, they reached out to explore a new signage system. Golden Arrow sought a comprehensive wayfinding solution that would simplify navigation, improve clarity, and feature an aesthetic style that better suits their Adirondack (ADK) region resort.
Services: Environmental Design
Our approach began with a thorough Assessment/Strategy + Design phase, diving into the details of Golden Arrow, analyzing their space and outlining their goals. To begin, our team visited the location to get a first-hand understanding of the region, the hotel itself, and the common issues guests faced trying to get around its 5 floors. We developed an outline of their needs and drafted a preliminary sign schedule.
Meanwhile, the design team explored vintage ADK visuals, from which we developed a few options of different graphic styles. These designs included various natural, environmental motifs, and some inspired by vintage winter sports imagery (the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid). Each option was intended to create a user-friendly wayfinding system that integrates with the resort branding. After in-person meetings, the client selected a design based on native animals and fauna in an earthy brown and green color scheme. The color palette complements the resort’s interior design and is easily visible backed by the ivory wallpaper and light-colored wood used throughout. Bright white letters paired with dark backgrounds creates high contrast, making the sign content more legible for any guests, even with visual impairment.
During an extensive Development phase, we refined the approved design and expanded it into a complete signage system. This phase included a full, on-site mock-up of every sign, so the Golden Arrow staff and guests could experience the planned wayfinding changes. After several rounds of review — removing some signs to streamline the flow and adding a few to tighten up problem areas of the hotel — we created the final sign schedule, an installation location map, and pre-pressed final artwork for fabrication. Our team ensured that the signage addressed all logistical requirements: aesthetically pleasing but also practical, durable, and functional.
As part of the Fabrication + Printing phase, we managed the production of 410 interior signs for Golden Arrow, including directional signage, main and smaller directories, room numbers, specialty room signs, and emergency and instructional signs. The incorporation of braille and raised characters ensured ADA compliance where required. Each sign was meticulously crafted to meet high standards of durability and legibility, a necessity for the high-use family resort.
Finally, in the Installation phase, our four-person team installed the signs on-site over the course of multiple days. The installation blended in seamlessly, transforming the resort into an efficient and highly navigable guest experience.
Throughout the project, our expertise in design, wayfinding, and ADA compliance ensured that Golden Arrow’s new signage system meets the ultimate standards of functionality and design, easing the staff’s burden of having to regularly provide directions and improving the overall visitor experience.
