The goal of the wayfinding effort is to make it easy for visitors to navigate around downtown Knoxville as well as highlighting its attractions and offerings in an appealing and informative manner.

The project area encompasses all of downtown including World’s Fair Park. The general boundaries are the Norfolk Southern Tracks on the north, the Tennessee River on the south, Hall of Fame Drive on the east and 11th Street on the west.

The city has been working on the Downtown Wayfinding Project for several months. In 2009, the city selected MERJE, a Philadelphia-based firm with extensive experience in wayfinding and branding work, from among more than 20 companies that submitted proposals to lead the public process for input, create a design, establish sign locations and create a manual for maintenance of the signs and system.