Wayfinding 1.9

Aimed to make the map for each floor as consistent as I could in relation to size of text and the circle. I would really like the map to be embossed with black ink onto a high quality paper so that people could pick up the small leaflet/publication at the entrance and use it once they're inside and if I have time I would like to try this with traditional typesetting or screen printing. 

Tried putting my map wayfinding solution into context:

Chose the entrance door to put the ground floor map on. It is fairly small and the type is hard to read through a see-through panel. The black type is hard to see when it is against something dark through the window. 

Went back home, to the nearest city, Bath. Found some new wayfinding techniques which were required because the city attracts a lot of tourists. 

PearsonLloyd is a design company based in London who were set with the task of creating wayfinding in the heritage city. They found it a difficult task as they had to agree with the cities local community: 'a vocal group of protective residents – have a tendency to view changes made to the city as an act of cultural vandalism.' 

Quote from http://pearsonlloyd.com/2013/01/city-information-system/ 

More images: 

 

I really like the totem concept that blends into the heritage and historical building around the city. The totems look and feel like they are made out of copper which has a neutral and natural colour that isn't overwhelming. The circular map is wholesome and balanced and acts as a focal point. The map is very detailed and small, they 'you are here' is written in orange which stands forward against the analogous, natural colour scheme of the map. Although the information is small and you have to get very close in order to read it, the lack of type makes the map purely visual and easy to interpret due to the pictograms and colour schemes. The map leaves the audience to decide where to go, without any imperatives which makes it really user friendly. 


PearsonLloyd were set a similar task to me, in the sense that they had to create wayfinding for a historical location. This meant that they had to be considerable of the architecture and heritage of the city. The totems are made out of a natural material which has a neutral colour. I would like to consider using this technique because it isn't too invasive and I could scale down the totem to fit in the limited space.

Placing my circular composition onto the Bath wayfinding totem allowed me to see if my design would work in this context:

I added the floor (G) onto the small circle below so that it was on a larger scale and can be recognised from further away. 

Placed the totem into The Corn Exchange to see what it would look like in context:

Using Photoshop I placed the totem into the space and added shadows to make the people blend into the environment. The actual map is very white because I struggled to find a way of blending it in with the light around it. 

I think the colour and texture of the totem blends in well with the environment because the brown looks like the wood. If I had the fascilities, I would make the totem out of wood and then either engrave the map into the circle, make the circle glass or just print it onto the wood. I want the map to be sophisticated so the type could be raised from the surface. 

The totem gives me opportunity to add some more wayfinding techniques because there is a lot of space available. I could add stairway signage onto the totem and use the small circle to suggest what is on the upper/lower floor.