Ed. note: This brief profile of Homonym is one of a series of three that provide a little background on the companies that sponsored my charity: water campaign.
When Rob Cardoso launched Homonym, it was an opportunity to synthesize a number of disciplines to develop creative solutions to client’s information problems. Ultimately what Homonym does is design information to help people get to their destination – whether walking in a public space or building or navigating a website. “We design information to make everybody’s life a little easier, wherever they encounter that information,” says Rob. “That’s what gets me going every day.”
Called wayfinding, the expertise Rob offers clients is built on an inter-disciplinary approach that he developed over a career working at a variety of companies, from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco to the large architecture firm Gensler. This journey give him experience in graphic design, information design, spatial design, and architecture, and it ultimately led him to start his own business in early 2011.
When I spoke to Rob recently about his business and his support of charity: water, it occurred to me that his passion for using information to help people navigate their way was not unrelated to his desire to help out in this cause. Rob talked about how a motivating factor for him was the effect this project had on his nine-year-old son. “In watching some of the videos with me and hearing me talk about it,” he says that his son became much more aware and conscious of other people’s situations. “It opened his eyes,” Rob says.
And isn’t that what we parents try to do with our children? Aren’t we to some degree providing a little wayfinding for our kids, helping them navigate the world and understand not only their own place in it but how they relate to others?
As a new business owner, Rob uses his experience as an information designer at Homonym to help clients with their wayfinding needs. And wherever he can, he says he will continue to support other organizations with time, expertise, and funding. “Hopefully I can be in a position to help in efforts like this,” he says.
I hope so as well. Helping people find their way – whether directing passengers in an airline terminal, or teaching kids to find their role in the world – is a skill that will always be in demand.