Wyre Forest Research

I recently visited the Wyre Forest Visitors Centre to complete some research as I feel that the signage from this site would be of a similar style as the brief that we have to do for this module. I took photographs of the different signage systems and information sign posts as well as the location that they are placed in. I took some influence and inspiration from these examples as I feel that they would be good for the site that we are working for as it is for a similar audience and in a similar location.

Below are different images showing examples of the directional and informational sign posts.

Site Visit with Client

We were given the opportunity to visit the site in which we are designing signage for, we were able to talk to the client in person and take photographs which helped me to get to grips with the location of the site and where each section is going to be when the site is finally up and running.

Below are the images that I took when we visited, I believe they are useful when completing my research.

Rough Sketches

Below are my rough coloured sketches for the information sign and the directional sign:

Above is my directional sign for this brief, I will use the font Bliss 2 Regular as this is the font that the university use for all of their graphics, I discovered this when I searched for information about the universities identity (the link is below).  I thought that by using the university font then it would not only be recognised to the public as being a university building/campus but it would also continue with the rest of the universities identity. On the simplified map that I am going to create, there will be colours symbolising the different sections of the campus and then those sections will represent the colours on the directional sign, this would mean that the user would be able to use the colours instead of the actual wording.

http://www.worcester.ac.uk/documents/Identity_Guidelines.pdf

This is the contents of the rough information sign, it will include a mapped out version of the lake and then pin points (almost like notice board pins) and then there will be an image of the animal/fish with the name and a small bit of information such as a fact about them. The heading of "Lakeside Wildlife" would be in the font of Clarendon Roman which is the font that the university use as a heading font. This again, like I mentioned above would enhance the universities identity. My inspiration for this design was taken from the circular walk that was one of the session tasks which can be found later on in my blog. Research of other informational sign boards also allowed me to come to this rough conclusion. The animal titles and the information about them will be in the font Bliss 2 Regular.

The above are some examples of my idea on different types of informational boards to work out which one would look better.

Contemporary Information Signs

Below are information signs that are deemed as being contemporary rather than traditional. They feature more thought going into the background and the actual build of the sign. Although most of the below do feature wood, they are designed in a way which makes them slightly more contemporary than the signs in my previous post. Many include a background, a headline stating what the information board is about (this gives the viewer an oppurtunity to stop and read it or to walk away depending on the topic of the board), a main image (usually in the centre) and images and text around the outside of the board.

Traditional Information Signs

The below images are examples of traditional informational signs. They all have some element of wood in them as that is what gives the sign a traditional element to it, the information on the board usually isn't too bright and normally features a white background with text and images laid on the top. These information boards main aim is to portray information to the person reading it which means that it does need to be information heavy to some extent but the key is to not go too overboard with the text and to focus on the images portraying a similar amount of information.

Signage for Children & Adults- Little Owl Farm Park

I recently visited the Little Owl Farm Park and I took photographs of the signage present at the park as I thought it would be useful to analyse as it is targeted at both adults and children. As this park wasn't particularly big, there was no map based by the reception, the only map present was on the back of the leaflet that was given, the directional signs were good enough to not need a map or multiple maps dotted around the park

I thought this sign would be useful to use at some
point as there is a lake which is deep water and
this issue would need a warning sign.

They have used the well known icons in most
cases on this sign and then arrows to show the
directional element of the sign.

Cartoon animals are put in place as mascots and decoration
for the children as the adults probably wouldn't be interested
in this element of the signage, they would be more interested
in knowing where things are and how to get there.