In a way we can say that King Herod, a man of great cruelty, gave us Caesarea as a gift. Founded under the banner of ‘food and entertainment,’ the city still offers that today, albeit in a somewhat less hedonistic manner.

As the most popular historic site in Israel (along with Masada, of course), an effective system of signs was crucial. Some 750,000 visitors a year wander among the ancient remains, and explore the restaurants and galleries in the ancient harbor. The directional and wayfinding signs are a bridge between two worlds, the glory of the past and the enchantment of the present.

We drew inspiration from several sources, first of all from the urban plan of the city. Ancient Caesarea was a state-of-the-art creation. Its main streets, the Cardo and the Decumanus, intersected at right angles, forming the basis of an orthogonal grid – a bit like modern Manhattan perhaps. By the same token, our signposts are central constructions from which the directional signs emerge.   


Directional sign with the entrance gate in the background 

Directional sign, Caesarea

Another concept was to choose colors that reflected the character of different directional signs. We focused on three spheres: Herod and the antiquities were given terracotta orange, typical of ancient pottery. The harbor, with its overtones of leisure-time activity (restaurants; galleries) got the color turquoise. Although the sea is blue, its glorious sunsets made yellow a good choice, but – from the celestial to the earthy – the same color was used for parking and WCs as well.   

“Herod and the antiquities were given terracotta orange, typical of ancient pottery”

The structural design of the signs was given an airy transparency so as not to interrupt views of the sea, antiquities and nature. We chose an iron-like brown for the signposts that connect the signs themselves.



Color scheme and visual references