Navigation system at Yandex office

Overview   Process   Real Life  

Task: to prepare and realize an inspiring interior design.

In 2012, Yandex office has moved into a new location. The size of the new headquarters necessitated a navigation system. The agenda was to create a design which would also keep the general feel of the place cozy, inviting, and overall friendly.

yandex office navigation outside
Ariadne’s thread leading to the main entrance

The space is broken up by a great number of curved corridors and forks, add clone-looking “intersections” with staff constantly shifting their offices from room to room and it becomes too easy to get literally lost in the labyrinth.

yandex office navigation hall 01
yandex office navigation hall 02
yandex office navigation hall 03

Release date: May 30 2012

Cast:

artistic director
art director
designer and illustrator
designer
illustrators
project managers

from Yandex:

project managers

Floor navigation

Numbered mileposts are the backbone of the new navigation system pointing to the nearest exits, meeting rooms, coffee stations, and restrooms. Marker-friendly surfaces invite Yandex employees to add new details to the signs.

yandex office navigation post numbers
The testing squad has landed on the fifth floor
yandex office navigation post grid
Post species chart

The headquarters spread over three wings and six working floors, thus the double-digit indexing on the posts with the first number for the floor and the second for the location, think hotel style. The short wing has letters instead of digits on the second position.

yandex office navigation fireplan
Wall navigation/fire evacuation plan

Some signs are duplicated along the edge of the ceiling tile “skylights.”

yandex office navigation holes
The deck is straight ahead
yandex office navigation hole 01
yandex office navigation hole 02
yandex office navigation hole 03
The “skylight” openings are designed to allow to service the pipes and are all over the place
yandex office navigation before
yandex office navigation after
Before and after

Illustrations

We thought up a theme for each floor and picked special numbers with some underlaying hints and metaphors to match.

yandex office navigation floor numbers 01
yandex office navigation floor numbers 02
yandex office navigation floor numbers 03
yandex office navigation floor numbers 04
yandex office navigation floor numbers 05
yandex office navigation floor numbers 06
Calendar
Money
Walls
Statistics
Transport
Climate

Artwork compliments the metaphors enciphered in the numbers.


Dry functionality of the navigation signs is counter-weighted by artwork generously spread throughout the interior.

yandex office navigation employees at work 01
yandex office navigation employees at work 02
yandex office navigation employees at work 03
yandex office navigation employees at work 04
yandex office navigation employees at work 05
yandex office navigation employees at work 06
yandex office navigation employees at work 07
yandex office navigation employees at work 08
yandex office navigation employees at work 09
Paradox
Workplace
Pool table ahead
Bridge
1st floor mataphors
Twenty million
Nook
Gym to the right
Our moose
yandex office navigation life
The artwork is printed on “white board” film which can be drawn upon with markers. (see “Real life”)

Stairwell navigation and stuff

Find a list of everything a building has to offer by elevators.

yandex office navigation lift list
yandex office navigation stairway list
The building’s guide
in elevators hall
The floor’s guide
by the stairs

Illustratoins and miscellaneous extras supporting the floor’s theme by elevators.

yandex office navigation lifthall 01
yandex office navigation lifthall 02
yandex office navigation lifthall 03
Fairy tale
Construction
Geography

The executive seventh floor features an interactive light animation.

Let the fish out
yandex office navigation projectors
Projector installation scheme

Such interior design leaves the dwellers no other choice but to burst with original ideas and solutions.

yandex office navigation lifthall
Welcome to Yandex!

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