Initial Sketches

I have come up with some very simple sign shape ideas as a starting point for this brief:

The following are the basic concepts for the sign design for the directional signs:

This idea is having a circle sign as if it is a slice of a tree trunk, this is keeping in with the woodland and nature theme, the sign would probably be plastic as it would last for longer without the need for any maintenance and the text would probably be white so that it stands out from the brown tree trunk.

This idea is extremely simplistic but I don't feel like I can rule out the simple ideas just yet as they do work for all audiences. The arrow would be cut out and put on a sign post or trees or a fence, somewhere that it would be easily seen. The word would be place inside of the arrow. The colour schemes of the arrow would probably be green or brown, again with white text.



This idea came from inspiration, on my previous blog post where there is the Forestry Commission has posts with the different routes on it. In this idea, I would have a big information map with the different routes on it in which the users could see the route was red, for instance, and then follow all of the red markers. This would then enable the tutor/teacher/students to say "Follow the red route" and when the system is up and running, it would work successfully.

The following are my sketches of rough concepts of information signs:

This idea has been seen many times before and it is the main style of information signs that is used, especially in the Wyre Forest and other Forestry Commission places (evidence of which can be seen on my previous blog post). This style is bold and noticeable but it does have its limitations, for instance, wheelchair users and small children wouldn't be able to read this without looking up and potentially straining their necks which isn't ideal.

This is very similar to the above information sign style apart from the fact that it is slanted which means that it is also lower to the ground. This would solve all problems mentioned above regarding wheelchair users and children.

This idea came from inspiration which I acquired from looking at coastal path signage (evidence of which can be found on my previous blog post). The signs found on coastal paths and by the sea are a lot more attractive and in my opinion have had a lot more thought put in them and their appearance. Although the majority of the coastal path signs are quite tall, therefore resulting in some users being unable to read the signs, I could decrease the size and the height so that it would be suitable for all ages but it would be different, more attractive and therefore would draw in the user into looking at the information. Another idea which I could do which is an add on to this idea is a wider, less tall version of the sketch above which would hold a lot of information still but would be more attractive than the standard boards. Below is a sketch of the above idea.