Junior Signage & Wayfinding Designer

Job Title: Junior Signage & Wayfinding Designer
Location: Markham, GTA, Ontario
Job Type: Full-time, Early Career
Department: Signage & Wayfinding / Environmental Graphic Design

About Parsons

Parsons is a leader in infrastructure, mobility, and smart city solutions, delivering integrated design that connects people to places. Our signage and wayfinding team works at the intersection of industrial design, graphic design, and the built environment. We help people navigate complex spaces such as transit systems, campuses, operations facilities, and public realms. We are looking for a junior designer who is excited to blend graphic design, industrial design thinking, and 3D experimentation into meaningful wayfinding solutions.

Position Overview

The Junior Signage & Wayfinding Designer will support the development of signage, wayfinding systems, and environmental graphics from concept through to detailed design. This role is ideal for a recent graduate and/or someone with approximately 1+ years of experience (including internships or co‑ops) and a strong interest in:

• Visual communications and typography

• Information hierarchy and user experience in physical spaces

• 3D form, materials, and fabrication

You will work under the guidance of senior designers and project managers, contributing to drawing sets, concept presentations, and design documentation for a variety of public and private sector projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Support the design of signage and wayfinding systems for transit, civic, corporate, and mixed‑use projects.

• Develop concept designs, mood boards, and visual directions under senior guidance.

• Create layouts for signage families, message schedules, and information hierarchies.

• Assist with digital and physical mockups for signage forms, materials, and finishes.

• Prepare clear, well‑organized presentation documents that explain design thinking and process.

• Produce and refine vector artwork and production‑ready files for signage and environmental graphics.

• Help assemble drawing sheets and documentation packages, including sign location plans, sign type drawings/elevations, material and finish callouts as well as basic fabrication notes (under supervision)

• Contribute to on‑site reviews, audits, or photo documentation as needed.

• Collaborate closely with multidisciplinary teams (architecture, interiors, industrial design, engineering).

Required Education & Qualifications

• Graphic Design major with a Bachelor’s degree or recognized college diploma (3-4 year program) in Graphic Design or closely related field.

Core Skills & Competencies

• Strong graphic design fundamentals including typography, layout and grid systems, colour theory, and information design and hierarchy

• Demonstrated interest in environmental graphics, wayfinding, or signage systems.

• Proficiency in industry‑standard design tools, such as: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat

• Comfortable working with reference standards, templates, and design guidelines.

• Ability to clearly communicate design rationale, both visually and verbally.

• Organized, detail‑oriented, and able to work on multiple tasks in parallel under supervision.

3D & Making Skills (Assets)

The following are considered strong assets but not strict requirements. Any experience in the following work is welcome:

• 3D modeling experience in tools such as AutoCad /Revit, SketchUp, Blender, Rhino, Fusion 360 (or other modeling software)

• Experience with physical prototyping or making, including 3D printing, woodworking, model‑making, laser cutting, CNC, or other fabrication techniques

• Comfort exploring how signs and wayfinding elements exist as objects in space form development, scale and ergonomics, materiality and finishes and integration with architecture and interiors

Fully resolved pieces are not required; we are especially interested in how you explore and develop ideas in 3D.

Portfolio Requirements

A portfolio submission is required for this role.

Your portfolio should include 5-10 relevant projects (school or other), ideally showing a mix of:

• Graphic design
• Information design
• Wayfinding/signage or environmental graphics (if available)
• Clearly demonstrate your process, not just final outcomes:
• Research, site/context understanding
• Ideation and sketching
• Iterations and design development
• Prototypes, mockups, or experiments (digital or physical)
• Highlight any 3D or making experience, such as:
• 3D models (screenshots, renders, process views)
• Photos of physical models, 3D prints, woodworking, or other experiments
• Notes, diagrams, or progress images that show how you think in form and space
• Clearly label your role and responsibilities on each project, especially for group work.

You may submit your portfolio as a single PDF (preferred), or a curated online portfolio link clearly organized for review.

Compensation

Starting hourly compensation will be set in line with:

• RGD (Registered Graphic Designers) guidelines for entry‑level and junior designers, and
• Current industry standards for comparable wayfinding/environmental graphic design roles in our region.

Final compensation will be commensurate with education, portfolio quality, and relevant experience, and will be reviewed with candidates during the recruitment process.