The Watauga County Tourism Development Authority issued DbD no small challenge: to create a fully custom wayfinding signage system and architectural theme worthy of the County’s world class outdoor assets.
From Concept to Construction
Our team guided the process from concept to final construction, providing detailed construction documents for engineering and installation.
Design
Our design team spent more than six months focusing solely on illustrations, color, materials, and architecture.
Custom Illustrations
The custom illustrations on the front sign panels highlight five local assets: the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, the New River, Elk Knob State Park, and Downtown Boone. While the back panels depict five popular local activities: snow skiing, paddling, hiking, fishing, and mountain biking.
Destination by Design partnered with the Watauga County Tourism Development Authority to develop a fully custom, countywide wayfinding system catered to the region’s world-class outdoor assets. The team spent more than six months focused solely on illustration, color, materials, and architecture, guiding the project from initial concept through detailed construction documents for engineering and installation.
In North Carolina, wayfinding and signage projects often draw on recreation master planning insights to decide which local assets deserve top billing. Watauga County’s signage system reflects that connection, using custom illustrations on each sign’s front panel to spotlight five defining locations, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain, the New River, Elk Knob State Park, and Downtown Boone, while the back panels highlight five popular activities: snow skiing, paddling, hiking, fishing, and mountain biking.
A countywide wayfinding system does more than direct traffic. It gives visitors a cohesive first impression of everything a region has to offer. Watauga County’s signage was designed as an architectural theme worthy of the county’s outdoor recreation reputation, translating the area’s mountains, rivers, and trails into a consistent visual language that reinforces Watauga’s identity at every major access point.
Wayfinding and signage design is the process of creating directional and informational signs that help visitors navigate a place while reinforcing its brand and character. For Watauga County, that meant custom illustrated panels, an original architectural theme, and full engineering and construction documentation, resulting in a signage system built specifically to showcase the county’s most iconic destinations and recreational activities.
Watauga County sits in the North Carolina High Country, home to the town of Boone, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Grandfather Mountain. Its dense concentration of outdoor recreation assets, from the New River to Elk Knob State Park, made a custom countywide wayfinding system essential for helping visitors navigate between the region’s many mountain destinations.
