Today we celebrate the 12th anniversary of Via Collective! As we mark this milestone, we are taking the opportunity to reflect on the past 12 years, as well as look forward to the future.
When Katie launched The Office of Katie Osborn in 2009, her vision was to provide site-specific, user-centered wayfinding strategy and design. As the portfolio of the office grew to include projects in the transportation, education, and park sectors, Katie expanded the team and in 2015 rebranded the company as Via Collective, Incorporated. This new name better reflected the collaborative nature of our work, highlighting the collective effort of the stakeholders involved in the design process – from visitors and clients to architects and engineers.
Teaming with prominent architecture and engineering firms such as ARUP, HNTB, AECOM, SHoP and Dattner Architects has provided us with the opportunity to live our mission by participating in large-scale public projects. Additionally, we’ve been honored to work with some of the most prominent NY institutions over the last decade including the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York University, Randall’s Island Park Alliance and Bloomberg.
As Via Collective looks forward to the decade ahead, we see the user journey continuing to expand beyond the boundaries of physical space, becoming even more accessible and flexible as digital tools advance. That said, our wayfinding approach remains grounded in the physical world while embracing new technologies, keeping the user at the center of the experience. This balance of digital and physical allows for greater exploration, discovery, and connection.
To facilitate this ongoing reflection as we celebrate our 12th year, we are launching a monthly series where Katie will discuss topics about small business ownership, leading a design studio, and the future of wayfinding. Topics will be based on questions submitted by our community. You can also follow us on social media to participate. As a part of the collective, we’d love to hear from you!