Floor Graphics

By All accounts, when Barry Diller is faced with an “either/or” design choice, he opts instead for “both” or “all.” That’s why the IAC interiors have alternating palettes and the Gehry-designed bathrooms look like a Happy Meal backdrop. And then there’s the potpourri of logos that greets visitors in the lobby and outside the elevator banks on floors two through nine.

“We saw those walls as a chance to do wayfinding,” project manager Judith McKay says of Bruce Mau Design, the firm hired to handle the wall graphics. “The client really responded when we started playing with the logos because the different companies really create IAC’s identity.”

The design for the upper floors is actually a single graphic spliced into individual pieces. “As best we could, we had the logos on the floor where that company resides,” McKay explains. “It had to be a system that could be replaced, so it’s vinyl. But the beauty of the design is that it’s not just about the logos—it’s also a gorgeous pattern. If one company comes or goes, there isn’t an immediate need to replace the graphic.”

The lobby graphic is its own pattern, representing the 60-plus IAC brands. “To get clarity within that dense vibrant environment, we put a white stroke around each logo,” McKay says, adding that there were some sacrifices. “It has the majority of the logos—ninety percent—but the space couldn’t hold them all.” Well, if the missing feel slighted, there’s still some white space in the bathrooms.

More on the Inter­ActiveCorp (IAC) headquarters:
Diller, Gehry, and the Glass Schooner on 18th Street
Model Timeline
Media Wall
Product Innovation
The Boardroom
AskCity
The High Line