30 / 11 / 15
This brief involves us developing a way-finding / navigational system for a chosen environment, whether that would be a university, shopping centre or art gallery, etc. We had to ensure it made an improvement to the current one, in terms of both legibility and guiding a user through an environment.
I began by visiting a range of places throughout the city to gather examples of way-finding, signage and pictograms. I photographed busy pedestrian areas such as the Train Station, the Art Gallery, the Bus Station and other smaller bits of signage to really get a feel for how their current way finding system works. Taking into account things such as the clarity of each sign and how useful they are in terms of pointing me in the right direction. Overall, most of the systems did seem quite successful but some did need improving.
Firstly, I visited the train station and upon first arrival the outside typography and icons are easily visible from a good 30-40 metres away and the overall graphics of the station have been designed by Network Rail. We quickly found online that there was a Way-finding Design Guidelines & Specifications booklet to go alongside the Network Rail system showing us all of the design decisions behind colour, typography, scale, layout and other factors in extreme detail. This is perfect for the project and I plan to use it to refer to during my own designing.
The station's overall colour scheme of blue, white and yellow is very consistent, making it quite simple to find directions and navigate through the station. Upon reading the 'Design Guidelines' we learn that the scale has been well considered, as the Network Rail adjusted the sizes of lettering and pictograms dependant on the intended reading distances. This ensures that the signage can be read from up-close or from a distance. To consider legibility they have also created their own custom typeface named ‘NR Brunel’, which looks fairly similar to Helvetica in the sense that it is visually as clear as possible in its communication. Furthermore, the contrast of light type on a dark blue background really improves readability.
At one point in the station one particular arrow is slightly misleading, this being due to the positioning of stairs next to an exit so it is unclear whether to proceed up the stairs to the station or whether it is a straight right you are taking. Other than that the station is the most successful and detailed way-finding system I found and it will help to reference to this when designing my own.
The Art Gallery also provided quite a strong way-finding system, in relation to it having a consistent style of sign, but also it provided a 3D map of the area which helped make the directions even easier to follow. This is definitely a characteristic to the way-finding I want to try and include, as it goes beyond just an arrow pointing you in the right direction. However this is dependant on where I choose to design for, as providing a complete map of the area can be a lot more difficult in different areas! The signs had a few pictograms which were nice to see but I would have liked to see more after being in the station looking at the big overhead signs. A simple pictogram following provides an even more efficient system to recognising places, thus enhancing ease of use.
Other areas that I visited included The Light which made use of very colourful and playful signage which appeared very aesthetically pleasing and did the job well too; whilst the bus station used a very bland but most efficient system (making use of overhead arrows and simple pictograms), which only lacked when trying to find the specific station for the MegaBus (talking from personal experience!).
____________________________________________________________________
The first point I recognised was the positioning of the signs themselves and just how vital it is for them to be ideally positioned in the places people would read them most, e.g. perpendicular to the direction that the people are walking in, so that they can read them quickly at a glance, but also in a position that wouldn't mean they'd be blocked by advertising posters, CCTV etc.
I began by visiting a range of places throughout the city to gather examples of way-finding, signage and pictograms. I photographed busy pedestrian areas such as the Train Station, the Art Gallery, the Bus Station and other smaller bits of signage to really get a feel for how their current way finding system works. Taking into account things such as the clarity of each sign and how useful they are in terms of pointing me in the right direction. Overall, most of the systems did seem quite successful but some did need improving.
Firstly, I visited the train station and upon first arrival the outside typography and icons are easily visible from a good 30-40 metres away and the overall graphics of the station have been designed by Network Rail. We quickly found online that there was a Way-finding Design Guidelines & Specifications booklet to go alongside the Network Rail system showing us all of the design decisions behind colour, typography, scale, layout and other factors in extreme detail. This is perfect for the project and I plan to use it to refer to during my own designing.
The station's overall colour scheme of blue, white and yellow is very consistent, making it quite simple to find directions and navigate through the station. Upon reading the 'Design Guidelines' we learn that the scale has been well considered, as the Network Rail adjusted the sizes of lettering and pictograms dependant on the intended reading distances. This ensures that the signage can be read from up-close or from a distance. To consider legibility they have also created their own custom typeface named ‘NR Brunel’, which looks fairly similar to Helvetica in the sense that it is visually as clear as possible in its communication. Furthermore, the contrast of light type on a dark blue background really improves readability. At one point in the station one particular arrow is slightly misleading, this being due to the positioning of stairs next to an exit so it is unclear whether to proceed up the stairs to the station or whether it is a straight right you are taking. Other than that the station is the most successful and detailed way-finding system I found and it will help to reference to this when designing my own.
The Art Gallery also provided quite a strong way-finding system, in relation to it having a consistent style of sign, but also it provided a 3D map of the area which helped make the directions even easier to follow. This is definitely a characteristic to the way-finding I want to try and include, as it goes beyond just an arrow pointing you in the right direction. However this is dependant on where I choose to design for, as providing a complete map of the area can be a lot more difficult in different areas! The signs had a few pictograms which were nice to see but I would have liked to see more after being in the station looking at the big overhead signs. A simple pictogram following provides an even more efficient system to recognising places, thus enhancing ease of use.
Other areas that I visited included The Light which made use of very colourful and playful signage which appeared very aesthetically pleasing and did the job well too; whilst the bus station used a very bland but most efficient system (making use of overhead arrows and simple pictograms), which only lacked when trying to find the specific station for the MegaBus (talking from personal experience!).
Understanding the basics of way finding and which elements are considered most important for communication was the next thing I wanted to do. Although some aspects such as colour contrast and scale seem obvious components, I want to ensure I consider every other possible characteristic to ensure it's the most useful and legible piece of signage.
Way-finding should almost be an autonomous process in the mind, resulting in the user barely even having to stop to think about which direction it is they should be travelling in. All unnecessary information should be disregarded leaving only an easy to recognise name of destination and a possible accompaniment of a pictogram for further ease.
Upon studying the National Rail Signage Guidelines PDF I found it was a very useful source for the project as it identifies each aspect of their current way finding signage and goes into depth as to why they chose what they did in relation to the ease of use for users. Given how successful their current signage is, I felt this would be an accurate source to take make my information from.
The height of these signs are also very important, as the National Rail Guide suggests a height of around 3.5m for the signage. This is not too high that people reading it would have to stop and stare directly upwards, but also not too low to come in collision with anything or anyone, also leaving us with questions of scale.
The size of the sign needs to be considered to ensure it can be read from the necessary distances. This means typeface selection needs to be considered correctly to ensure the easiest and most efficient experience when navigating around somewhere. The typestyle best up for the job realistically would be a sans serif typeface as they're considered the more clean and legible typeface, as serif fonts can sometimes be somewhat complex in terms of each letterform. Suggested key aspects for when choosing a typeface include good legibility with large x-heights, wide letter proportions and prominent ascenders and descenders.
The guide for suggested sizing of the text goes as follows:
7 Metres = 160 Pt Size
9 Metres = 190 Pt Size
14 Metres = 320 Pt Size
18 Metres = 380 Pt Size
These are in relation to rail station distances but can be easily applied to other situations and environments in the world....
Although the colour and typeface decisions may be perfect for the signage, but as far as legibility goes, from a distance they may not even be clear enough to see unless an appropriate point size is used.
No comments:
Post a Comment