In 1988, Gottschalk+Ash created the name, branding and signage system for the world’s largest underground shopping labyrinth. The City of Toronto commissioned the firm to create PATH, the underground pedestrian walkway connecting more than 50 buildings, including 1,200 shops and services, eight subway stations, and more.
The logic behind the PATH logo concept features each letter contained in a square just as each building on the map is in a square. The squares represent waypoints on a route. The PATH logo reflects the distinctive corporate buildings represented in squares with letters in different colours as waypoints, which were again picked up in a compass rose design used to help to orient pedestrians.
The map concept had to have an inherent flexibility as the downtown core was constantly growing and changing. Instead of giving all large maps in the system the usual north straight-up orientation, they shifted the perspective of each one according to the direction the user would be facing.