Punk.ED New York guides visitors
and residents on a wayfinding journey through the Lower East Side.

The journey serves to introduce them to historical venues that were once home to a thriving music, art, and counter culture movement that took place in the late 1970’s through early 1990’s.Even though many of these businesses no longer operate, it is important to show how they once existed throughout the city and how their influence remains today despite their closure.

While there are many cultural movements that preceded Punk, it was Punk that had most recently been pushed out of sight by NYC’s ever evolving landscape. Much of the music, art, and food scene in the Lower East Side was brought to life by the bold bohemian and rugged artists that once occupied it. It would be a shame to shrug aside a movement that gave the area so much flavor and we plan on bringing it back into the forefront of the landscape.

The way finding systems designed take inspiration from an unlikely source: hostile architecture. While hostile design is usually oppressive, I am integrating it with classic imagery seen in punk jewelery and mohawk hairstyles to create a form that juts out and interrupts the status quo. The sign’s aggressive form mirrors the harsh and in–your–face attitude you would find in any punk venue being portrayed in the walking tour.