The Shefa School

New York, New York

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The Shefa School

Wayfinding with Meaning

Wayfinding should do more than guide people through a space—it should tell a story, connect people to their surroundings, and reflect the values of the community it serves. This philosophy is at the heart of our work at The Shefa School, where we designed a wayfinding system that embraces cultural sensitivity, fosters educational growth, and enhances the sense of belonging for a diverse group of students. The Shefa School, located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, serves students with language-based learning disabilities in a unique educational environment. With a campus spread across 12 vertical floors, the school blends specialized teaching with Jewish cultural traditions. Our challenge was to create a wayfinding experience that respected and amplified Shefa’s educational and cultural mission while also providing a practical navigation tool for students, staff, and visitors.
  • Client

    The Shefa School

  • Location

    New York, New York

  • Sector

    Educational

  • Discipline

    Wayfinding, Experiential Graphics, Donor Recognition, Placemaking

  • Architect

    Dattner Architects

  • Fabrication/Installation

    Dura Architectural Signage

  • Photography

    James Shanks

Listening to the Community

Before designing any elements, we took the time to listen to the needs of Shefa’s community. Shefa is a pluralistic Jewish school, welcoming families with varying levels of Jewish observance and background. Its mission is to nurture students’ strengths while addressing their learning challenges. Understanding this, we knew our design had to go beyond functional signage – it had to reflect the school’s cultural diversity and sense of unity.

We began by integrating Jewish symbols and traditions into the visual language of the school. From the exterior graphics inspired by the Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) to custom symbols for wayfinding, our design reflected Shefa’s core values of connection, growth, and inclusion. Elements like olive branches, pomegranates, and doves are subtle yet powerful nods to Jewish heritage, providing a sense of place and identity.

Bilingual and Inclusive: Design for All Learners

One of the key design features of Shefa’s wayfinding system is its bilingual signage in both English and Hebrew. This approach honors the school’s Jewish identity while also serving students from diverse linguistic backgrounds. In addition, custom symbols accompany text to assist younger students or those learning to read. Transliteration ensures that Hebrew is accessible to all, further supporting the school’s mission to build cultural bridges.

Wayfinding as an Emotional Experience

Shefa’s campus is designed as a vertical space, with each floor separated by distinct art and science levels. To create a cohesive and intuitive wayfinding experience, we employed bold, colorful graphics that matched the architectural color palette, making each floor easily identifiable. Green hues at the lower levels transition to blue as you ascend, symbolizing growth and connection.

 

We chose not only to make navigation practical but also emotionally engaging. By creating a visual system that aligned with the school’s growth-oriented philosophy, we ensured that wayfinding became a positive, immersive experience for students of all ages.

The lobby’s donor walls extend the exterior vine graphic and features Jerusalem Stone, a material used in ancient and modern Jerusalem.

 

Colorful acrylic donor panels are applied to the stone wall at different depths to indicate the donor tiers. The design uses the non-engraved panels to create an opportunity for future donor additions
through a flexible graphic layout.

The wayfinding system at Shefa School is more than just a tool—it’s a reflection of the school’s culture, values, and commitment to inclusive education.

Find out more about The Shefa School.

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