Environmental Graphics at Novo Nordisk by Poulin + Morris

As a world leader in diabetes care, the 88-year-old Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk employs over 30,000 people in 7 countries, with 2,000 employees based in the United States. Until 2011, the company’s North American headquarters had been located in 4 separate buildings in Princeton, New Jersey. Novo Nordisk commissioned Granum A/I to redesign and reconfigure the former world headquarters for Merrill Lynch for its newly integrated headquarters.
The Princeton facility includes 500,000 square feet spanning a quarter mile location on a 2.8 million-square-foot campus that features 99 acres of lush, natural landscape and a scenic 5-acre lake. The interior plan features clusters of communal and collaborative spaces, including private offices, open offices, and conference rooms. Special project rooms, work rooms, and huddle spaces offer employees a variety of work environments.
A comprehensive building graphic program was developed that provides a consistent visual language that adheres to Novo Nordisk’s design values and visual cornerstones in a new and dynamic way. The designers introduced a color coding system that designates each of the vast facility’s 5 zones. The color system is accentuated with bold patterns representing molecular compositions of insulin, further differentiating each zone by the scale, color, and application of these patterns. These insulin-inspired patterns are prominently integrated throughout the project—on wall murals, glass entrances, and glass partitions. A modular sign panel system featuring a complementary pattern based on elements from the periodic table displays an intuitive room numbering system to guide people through the building. Graphic pattern murals display large-scale floor numbers and wayfinding information for additional navigation throughout the LEED-Silver certified facility.
The designers were also responsible for the branding of the headquarters’ dining facilities—Lakeview, a cafeteria featuring a two-story wall of windows overlooking views of the adjacent lake, and The Market, a self-service “grab and go.” A graphic identity program for these 2 venues was developed for all printed materials, menu items, and graphic sign elements.

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