More and more local authorities and cities are opting for Asphalt Art to revitalize town centers and develop pedestrian zones in their areas. What if pedestrians could reclaim their streets with artistic signage?
Asphalt Art to energize territories
Animated marking is an urban design technique designed to improve pedestrian safety and comfort, while making public spaces more attractive and fun. It involves the application of specific patterns, designs or colors to the pavement or sidewalks of urban areas. This technique can be achieved using paint, special coatings or other horizontal signage methods.
In France, artistic markings officially became legal in cities in 2015. So local authorities saw an opportunity to develop their territory and promote pedestrian exchange areas. Since then, many cities have chosen to use this type of marking on certain streets and strategic spaces.
The aim is to liven up certain meeting and exchange areas, particularly in pedestrian areas or areas dedicated to soft mobility.
The development of this type of marking art contributes to the promotion of soft mobility and the creation of more peaceful spaces to facilitate and secure pedestrian travel through striking horizontal signage. In certain situations, this device adds a playful dimension to public space and encourages greater appropriation by users.
Improving safety for pedestrians
Artistic signage is often used in meeting spaces and pedestrian areas, where soft mobility takes precedence over motorized vehicles. Distinctive patterns and colors attract drivers' attention and encourage them to slow down, thus improving user protection.
By creating more welcoming and safer pedestrian spaces, animation branding encourages the use of active modes of travel, such as walking and cycling, which can help reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
Whether it's a real pedestrian walkway, or simply a passageway or path, ground murals can help users get around more easily, and make vulnerable individuals feel safer.
What if paint turned phosphorescent at night?
Ground mural is an innovative approach to urban design that combines aesthetics, utility and community involvement to improve the quality of life in urban areas and promote more sustainable modes of travel.
But what about these markings at nightfall?
Photoluminescent road markings are an indispensable option for Asphalt Art, especially at night. Unlike ordinary products, photoluminescent road paint has the particularity of absorbing natural or artificial light during the day and releasing it as a glow in the dark. This property makes it an interesting choice for improving the visibility and safety of public spaces at night, including in the context of artistic markings.
Photoluminescent material needs no additional artificial lighting to be visible at night. On the contrary, it works optimally in the dark, which can help reduce energy consumption in some municipalities. Our luminous signage takes over when street lighting is completely or partially switched off at night.
The increased visibility of our photoluminescent markings helps to make night-time travel safer for pedestrians.
LuminoKrom®, a luminous guide at the heart of the city
Our phosphorescent products have proved their worth on greenways and cycle paths. Now it's the turn of pedestrians to adopt our technology.
Take the example of the Square du Temps des Cerises on Île-Saint-Denis, which was the subject of an artistic tableau created by Concepto, an agency specializing in urban lighting design.
LuminoKrom® road lighting has been used creatively to add an artistic and aesthetic dimension to public spaces at night, contributing to the playfulness of the environment.
The project is designed without artificial lighting, to take full advantage of the principle of photoluminescence. On the floor, horizontal signage was created using geometric patterns and inscriptions.
"The project can only be seen in the total darkness of night, so it was installed in an urban location that was first turned off. It's a fresco on the ground with photoluminescent paint, evoking in a figurative and poetic way the presence of nocturnal biodiversity, the nearby Seine and the stars at night." - Margot Jacob, Héloïse Ruiz and Sara Castagné, Concepto company
As for the park, it remains open all night long to take full advantage of the illuminated signage.
LuminoKrom® could also be used in cities, in parks and other cultural sites, to encourage pedestrian activity on certain routes. Local authorities looking to improve their areas can choose photoluminescence to boost pedestrian traffic in the heart of urban areas.
Do you have an urban development or ground mural project in mind?
Photoluminescence is a physical process whereby a material absorbs photons from a light source and re-emits them. To achieve this, the body is subjected to radiation of varying intensity, which excites the electrons present in the substance. These electrons store the light, store the energy and release it when there is a total absence of light.
Thanks to photoluminescence, the substance can be recharged indefinitely by daylight or artificial lighting. Our LuminoKrom® photoluminescent paint exploits exactly this physical phenomenon.
What are the advantages of photoluminescence?
Installations marked with photoluminescent paint require no special maintenance or servicing. Only standard road maintenance is required.
What's more, this type of marking is totally autonomous, requiring no charge or power source. So it's an economical and sustainable solution.
How long does paint luminescence last?
The paint itself emits for a very long time. The most important parameter to take into account is the length of time its light emission is perceptible to the human eye.
In an outdoor environment devoid of any light, we consider that the eye can perceive light emission up to around 8 millicandela/m², i.e. after 10 hours of emission. If the environment presents light pollution (full moon, proximity of public lighting), this threshold will be raised and the duration of visibility will be shortened.
Indoors, in absolute darkness, the perception threshold is much lower, and you can observe the luminescence of our paint for over 12 hours.
What surfaces can LuminoKrom® paint be applied to?
Our LuminoKrom® paint range can be applied to a variety of substrates and materials. We offer different references to suit every circumstance, whether for indoor or outdoor marking, for example.
Our road and urban paint references are ideal for use on concrete, cement, bitumen and asphalt mixes. A waterborne version is also available for interior applications.Concernant les applications sur du métal, il faudra choisir notre peinture LuminoKrom® pour Métal.
Our luminescent paint is applied over a white primer, so you can apply LuminoKrom® to any surface where the white paint will adhere.