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Progress

Discovery

Started May 2025. Initial phase to understand Medford’s needs as well as its identity. Key pain points in the existing wayfinding system are identified, as well as opportunities to best integrate with other ongoing initiatives in the City.

Find results from the public survey by clicking the button below:

Survey Results

Design

Started August 2025. Design of options for a brand language for consideration by City staff and key local stakeholders. The various options are evaluated in workshops with City staff and key stakeholders, resulting in the recommendation of a single design direction.

Review the first draft set of designs by clicking the button below:

Draft Designs I

Accessibility Design Review: Partnered with the Institute for Human Centered Design for a focus group on preliminary designs for accessibility by various users. Review the results of the January 2026 focus group by clicking the button below:

Wayfinding User Expert Review Report

Development

Started December 2025. Following client review and approval of design direction, sign types, and proposed locations, a wayfinding master plan document is produced.

Results

Finished in March 2026. OverUnder and MassDevelopment delivered a finalized Medford Wayfinding Master Plan in spring 2026. Read the plan and see the proposed designs by clicking the button below:

Wayfinding Study Master Plan

What's Next?

Now that the City has a Wayfinding Master Plan, The Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability will work on implementation. The roll out of a new, citywide wayfinding system will be incremental. The priority areas for implementing new signage are: Medford Square, Haines Square, Hillside, Riverbend Park, Wellington, and West Medford Square. Medford Square is the focus area for Implementation Phase 1.

You can review the Wayfinding Master Plan by clicking the button below. Any questions, comments, and concerns can be shared with the Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability at ocd@medford-ma.gov or by calling 781-393-2480.

Wayfinding Study Master Plan

What is Wayfinding?  

Wayfinding is about the tools people use to navigate from place to place. Good wayfinding connects different parts of a city, making the city easy to navigate while showcasing local identity. It can help visitors get where they’re going, strengthen residents' sense of identity, and bolster the local economy. The City of Medford is working with design firm OverUnder to assess the current conditions (including understanding mobility patterns and identifying challenges). The team will rethink and redesign signage and public realm components to create a cohesive brand identity and improve navigation throughout the city, with a focus on Medford Square.

A red informational sign stands in a park-like setting, surrounded by lush green trees and a paved walkway.

Directional totem signs help people get their bearings with maps and other information. They can also welcome visitors and provide a sense of arrival. 

The image shows several black bollards or posts on a sidewalk, with various icons and symbols displayed on them, including a coffee cup symbol and an 'm' symbol. In the background, there is a crosswalk and a street.

Small design elements, like color-coded icons on bollards, are used to tell different routes and destinations apart. 

Vibrant and colorful street art featuring stylized portraits of women against a backdrop of a bright blue sky with wispy clouds.

Murals and other pieces of art are a lively way to give a place a strong sense of identity. 

A large, colorful %22Noyer Park%22 sign stands in the foreground, surrounded by lush greenery and trees, with modern buildings visible in the background.

Large, three-dimensional signs are a bold way to show the name of a place, like a park. 

A green directional sign pointing to the Mystic River Path, with a cityscape in the background featuring buildings, cars, and a clear blue sky.

Directional signs are sometimes temporary and can be added where needed. 

A yellow sign displaying information about a bus station, outbound train, Central Square, and Union Street, with a metal barrier in the foreground.

Directional signs are sometimes temporary and can be added where needed. 

Objectives

Medford wishes to create an identity for its signs moving forward that would accomplish the following objectives:

  • Provide a clear and cohesive identity that is unique to Medford.
  • Provide visitors and residents with clear directions for accessing city attractions.

The Wayfinding Study will undertake the following tasks to achieve these goals:

  • Gather relevant data on past efforts for wayfinding and understand current conditions.
  • Study precedents established in other cities.
  • Conduct outreach engagement with key stakeholders to assess needs.
  • Conduct outreach and observation with community members to better understand use patterns and needs.
  • Develop a graphic language that is legible and compelling.
  • Create a wayfinding master plan that identifies locations, sign types, guidelines for future use, and a road map for implementation.

Overview of Community Outreach Strategies

To better understand the needs and priorities of the Medford community, city staff and consultants administered a survey, led five community pop-up events, facilitated 13 focus groups, and hosted two charrettes with city staff.

394 Survey Respondents

Community pop-up events took place at the following locations:

1. Circle the Square on 6/21/25

2. Chevalier Theater on 8/16/25

3. Farmer’s Market on 8/21/25

4. Tufts Undergrad Arrival Day on 8/28/25

5. Department of Planning, Development and Sustainability's Open House on 11/17/25

2 City Staff Charrettes

The OverUnder team also held 13 focus groups to engage the following stakeholders:

The Chevalier Theater

The Senior Center

The Chamber of Commerce

Tufts University

City of Medford Transportation staff

The Mayor’s Office

City of Medford Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

City of Medford Disability Commission

Rivers Edge Properties

Hormel Stadium

Historic Commission

Community Liaisons from the City of Medford Office of Outreach and Prevention

Encore Casino

Wayfinding Survey Results: 

Our Wayfinding Survey is now closed. Thank you for participating!

394 respondents completed this survey, including 350 Medford residents and 44 visitors. Here’s what we learned:

  1. Medford’s large natural assets, urban geography, social context, history, and change were themes that appeared across responses.
  2. Medford Square and the Fells emerged as the most popular and defining places in Medford among both residents and visitors.
  3. Major nodes like squares and intersections are hard to navigate and a lack of clear signage contributes to confusion.
  4. Local signs and orientation totem signs with maps were popular designs, abstract signs were not popular.
  5. Respondents think it's very important to see signs to destinations in squares, upon entering Medford, and on the highway. Respondents also think it’s important to see signs with maps, names of districts, directions to places on the Mystic River, and historical information.

Community Open House 

On November 17, 2025, city staff and consultants presented progress on the Wayfinding Project, including potential designs, at the Department of Planning, Development, and Sustainability's Open House. Thank you to all who attended!

People gathered in the City Council Chambers for a tabling event
People gathered in the City Council Chambers for a tabling event
People gathered in the City Council Chambers for a tabling event
People gathered in the City Council Chambers for a tabling event

Questions: 

To learn more about this study, please contact the Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability at 781-393-2480 or email ocd@medford-ma.gov.