At SIGNALS, we transform spaces through the deliberate orchestration of sensory experiences. Every project benefits from our unique fusion of technical expertise, creative vision, and meticulous attention to detail.
We believe in the power of meaningful connection—between people, objects, environments, and ideas. These connections are formed through carefully crafted signals: visual cues that guide, verbal elements that inform, aural components that enhance, and tactile features that engage.
In today's information-saturated world, clarity is rare and valuable. We cut through the noise by designing experiences where every element serves a purpose. Each signal we create invites interaction, prompts discovery, or evokes understanding, resulting in environments that communicate with intention and resonate with authenticity.
Our expertise is focused not just on creating signals, but on ensuring they connect with their intended audience —fostering understanding, engagement, and meaningful experiences.
Books
We bring extensive expertise in book design and development, working closely with publishers to craft impactful narratives. By combining strong design with thoughtful storytelling, we create books that inform, inspire, and endure.
Signs
We design user-friendly systems that guide visitors seamlessly through complex spaces, offering clarity, ease, and a memorable experience.
Process
From captivating signage to immersive storytelling, our designs combine concept and execution to leave a lasting impression.
Using tools like color, light, sound, text, and touch, we establish meaningful connections that resonate with users. Whether creating graphic illustrations, 3D models, or animations, we design signals that unfold over time and space. Our work serves architects, landscape designers, and cultural institutions, ensuring that our solutions align with their unique needs and environments.
Chris Grimley is a graphic designer and the founding principal at SIGNALS1not to be confused with the private chat app, where he creates visual systems that communicate with clarity and purpose. As an author and graphic designer2trained as an architect, self appointed 2023, he has developed books on architecture and photography monographs, archival surveys, the complex legacy of urban renewal,3See 'Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston' (2015) and exhibition catalogues4See 'Imagining the Modern: Architecture and Urbanism of the Pittsburgh Renaissance' (2019).
Known for their sophisticated typographic sensibility5We're avid readers of 'Never Use Futura', even though most of our projects do and ability to transform complex information into compelling visual narratives, the studio has implemented wayfinding and signage for Exhibit Columbus6Futura, MASS MoCA7also Futura, Vassar College, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the iconic Boston City Hall8Once called the ugliest building in the world, as @heroicproject we have been essential in transforming opions about this beloved brute..
Chris has a Master of Architecture degree from the University of British Columbia, and an undergraduate degree in Interior Design. He was a principal at OverUnder, an award-winning architecture and design office founded in 2006.
Clients
Civic
The Cities of Boston, Cambridge, Chicopee, San Antonio, and Somerville, MassDevelopment, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Somerville Arts Council
Cultural and Institutional
Boston Center for the Arts, Boston Preservation Alliance, Boston Society for Architecture, The Carnegie Museum of Art's Heinz Architecture Center, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Harvard Innovation Labs, Harvard University Information Technology, Harvard University Office of Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MASSART, MASS MoCA, Northeastern University, Wentworth Institute of Technology
Development and Professional
W/S Development, Gerding Edlen, Leggat McCall, Lawyers for Civil Rights, Reed Hilderbrand LLC, Scape, Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, Utile Architecture & Planning, Merge Architects, Rizzoli Publications, ORO Publications, Images Publishing, Rockport Publishers, Phaidon, The Monacelli Press, MIT Press