Noblis Inc.

Our partnership with Noblis Inc. started in 2016 when we were retained as wayfinding and EGD consultants for their headquarters relocation from Falls Church to Reston, Virginia. The project scope covered six floors and 160,000 square feet of office space which included the reimagined Noblis Innovation and Collaboration Center (NICC) as the interior focal point.

Knowing that the overall architectural plans and themes being developed by SmithGroup revolved around collaboration, we started our process by outlining ways to align with their theme. Collaboration as part of the branded environment meant describing the programs and solutions that the teams at Noblis deploy to support real world missions to bring all teams together. As part of our process, we worked closely with Noblis communications team to identify real stories by segment that could be described throughout the space.

The wayfinding program was critical to the project as the office was going to be a completely open environment—all workstations, even at the executive level. The system we developed separated each floor plate by color then letter and number. We incorporated large scale graphic elements, dimensional typography and a geometric line motif seamlessly into each floor that is easily legible and catches the eye, without being distracting. 

The Noblis workplace footprint has grown since our initial program together, yet we’ve been engaged at each new location to ensure brand and wayfinding consistency. Although each location is different and holds a unique mission driven team the concept of collaboration and storytelling remains the same.