GEMS Education Headquarters on Sheikh Zayed Road accommodates 350 employees across 4,000 square metres and combines corporate, educational and public-facing functions within one workplace environment.
LIMAH developed the Wayfinding & Navigation system for staff, families, students, business partners, visitors and service teams. The project connected information hierarchy, access requirements, zoning and organisational identity within one framework across the building.
The starting point for the project was an understanding of GEMS’ core values: leading through innovation, growing by learning, pursuing excellence, and global citizenship. These principles informed both the tone and structure of the wayfinding system, wherein we approached wayfinding as an extension of the organisation’s culture. Messaging, hierarchy, and placement were all shaped to reflect professionalism, openness, and global reach.
Four primary user groups were considered: corporate employees, parents and students, business partners, and service and maintenance staff.
Employees require departmental organisation and access to workplace and shared amenities. Parents and students need visible identification of destinations and support at arrival. Business partners move between meeting and VIP areas, while service and maintenance staff require defined back-of-house routes and service zones.
Mapping where these journeys overlap and diverge informed the location, scale and type of information used throughout the headquarters.
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A Wayfinding & Navigation framework was developed across all floors, including recommended locations and preliminary messages for primary physical sign types.
Level numbering was coordinated with lift controls, while room and desk numbering follows a clockwise logic with variations according to room type. Public, semi-public and restricted areas are differentiated through zoning integrated into the wider information system.
GEMS Education Headquarters on Sheikh Zayed Road accommodates 350 employees across 4,000 square metres and combines corporate, educational and public-facing functions within one workplace environment.
LIMAH developed the Wayfinding & Navigation system for staff, families, students, business partners, visitors and service teams. The project connected information hierarchy, access requirements, zoning and organisational identity within one framework across the building.
The starting point for the project was an understanding of GEMS’ core values: leading through innovation, growing by learning, pursuing excellence, and global citizenship. These principles informed both the tone and structure of the wayfinding system, wherein we approached wayfinding as an extension of the organisation’s culture. Messaging, hierarchy, and placement were all shaped to reflect professionalism, openness, and global reach.
Four primary user groups were considered: corporate employees, parents and students, business partners, and service and maintenance staff.
Employees require departmental organisation and access to workplace and shared amenities. Parents and students need visible identification of destinations and support at arrival. Business partners move between meeting and VIP areas, while service and maintenance staff require defined back-of-house routes and service zones.
Mapping where these journeys overlap and diverge informed the location, scale and type of information used throughout the headquarters.
A Wayfinding & Navigation framework was developed across all floors, including recommended locations and preliminary messages for primary physical sign types.
Level numbering was coordinated with lift controls, while room and desk numbering follows a clockwise logic with variations according to room type. Public, semi-public and restricted areas are differentiated through zoning integrated into the wider information system.
The selected design direction draws from a Feng Shui concept and uses glass as a primary material. Etched three-dimensional patterns reference the architecture of the building, while colour is used selectively across the environment.
This creates a physical signage family in which material, geometry, numbering and information hierarchy work together across the workplace.
GEMS Education Headquarters on Sheikh Zayed Road accommodates 350 employees across 4,000 square metres and combines corporate, educational and public-facing functions within one workplace environment.
LIMAH developed the Wayfinding & Navigation system for staff, families, students, business partners, visitors and service teams. The project connected information hierarchy, access requirements, zoning and organisational identity within one framework across the building.
The starting point for the project was an understanding of GEMS’ core values: leading through innovation, growing by learning, pursuing excellence, and global citizenship. These principles informed both the tone and structure of the wayfinding system, wherein we approached wayfinding as an extension of the organisation’s culture. Messaging, hierarchy, and placement were all shaped to reflect professionalism, openness, and global reach.
Four primary user groups were considered: corporate employees, parents and students, business partners, and service and maintenance staff.
Employees require departmental organisation and access to workplace and shared amenities. Parents and students need visible identification of destinations and support at arrival. Business partners move between meeting and VIP areas, while service and maintenance staff require defined back-of-house routes and service zones.
Mapping where these journeys overlap and diverge informed the location, scale and type of information used throughout the headquarters.
A Wayfinding & Navigation framework was developed across all floors, including recommended locations and preliminary messages for primary physical sign types.
Level numbering was coordinated with lift controls, while room and desk numbering follows a clockwise logic with variations according to room type. Public, semi-public and restricted areas are differentiated through zoning integrated into the wider information system.
GEMS Education Headquarters on Sheikh Zayed Road accommodates 350 employees across 4,000 square metres and combines corporate, educational and public-facing functions within one workplace environment.
LIMAH developed the Wayfinding & Navigation system for staff, families, students, business partners, visitors and service teams. The project connected information hierarchy, access requirements, zoning and organisational identity within one framework across the building.
The starting point for the project was an understanding of GEMS’ core values: leading through innovation, growing by learning, pursuing excellence, and global citizenship. These principles informed both the tone and structure of the wayfinding system, wherein we approached wayfinding as an extension of the organisation’s culture. Messaging, hierarchy, and placement were all shaped to reflect professionalism, openness, and global reach.
