SodiumPartners

Experiential Branding

High Line 

In an age where information is readily accessible and consumed at our fingertips 

like never before,it’s unusual to find public areas such as water fountains, 

elevators and bathroom sinks to be just as informative and insightful, if not more. 

New York’s High Line park is equipped with digitized bits of information in its water fountains, 

elevators and bathroom sinks. For example, at the push of the water fountain button,

a computer-generated voice shares information on the quality of the water, 

and it goes as far as promoting kissing as a form of oral hygiene.

As part of Julianne Swartz’s sound installation, this piece of public art is called Digital Empathy, 

which successfully shares information at an intimate level apart from the everyday clutter 

we normally consume from. The subtle integration of the sound bites is just as seamless 

as the way Swartz designed the signage to simulate standard public information signage, 

while using a pink heart to denote the experience.

By Lynn Esther