OUGD405 - Study Task 01 - Wayfinding Research

As part of my next module studio brief, for Wayfinding, I went to local galleries and museums as well as shopping centres, to look at their wayfinding strategies. Many of the places I went to, particularly the shopping centres, have maps of the whole complex at the start, or in the entrance. These maps have been made colourful and eye catching to entice the audience to look and discover where they are going. This will make the experience for the audience much more enjoyable.

However I have found that depending on the location, depends on the design. The maps in the shopping centres are harsh in colour and the use of eye catching tones are used too strongly and inappropriately. Whereas the design of the maps in art galleries are simple and convey a completely different tone of voice making them more suited to the style of the gallery.

The same can be said for the signage around the buildings. The shopping centre signage has the same harsh style as the maps and often over stylised typographies used which isn't always readable. Depending on the establishment, and how well established it is, the more commercial its style of design is. More independent shopping centres wayfinding signage is less readable than the more commercial areas. The layout of these signs do not look as though they have been planned thoroughly and there is no evidence of the use of grids and no manipulation of the ground in conjunction with the figure. The layout is not consistent and the use of pictograms  are more suited for airport navigation.

The signage used in the galleries has been though about more and are communicating the same tone of voice as that of the map. Even though the design has been thought of and is consistent, the use of symbols and materials is inconsistent and it varies. Different styles of arrows have been used and the signs are placed on different backgrounds. This inconsistency stood out to me more than the inconsistency of the shopping centre signage.

One gallery in particular, the Henry Moore Institute's signage was consistent, more than all of the other signage. The use of typography and symbols is consistent unlike the use of type and symbols in the Leeds Gallery.