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Use of colour as a tool in the design of wayfinding signage

Signage Design for Colour Blindness

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Beyond the aesthetics, colour has an important functional role in wayfinding design. Colour is often used to distinguish between floor levels, routes and different activity zones. For many people, colour offers a very clear and easy to follow intuitive cue to assist with navigation.
With an estimated 8% of the male population and 0.5% of the female population worldwide having some degree of colour vision deficiency, here’s some guidance on how to ensure the information is accessible

children cycling on a road

Why Wayfinding Needs to be Part of an Active Travel Strategy

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The Government has launched a £200m fund to help Local Authorities make improvements and upgrade pedestrian and cycle routes and paths. Clearly creating safe and attractive routes is critical if we’re to be persuaded to ditch cars in favour of cycling and walking. Importantly, we also need to know where these car free, safe or green route options are and where they can get us to.

Map showing green spaces across London

Green Route Wayfinding

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A few weeks ago I set off from home in West London on a 25km circular walk. Following paths and trails, flanked by trees, waterways and open spaces. With London’s reputation as one of the world’s most congested cities – I find that amazing.

Sign Family Diagram

Wayfinding Project Scope

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It’s one of those conundrums – you’re going out to tender because you don’t have the internal expertise to fulfil an identified need. Yet for cost surety and ensure you hire the best person for the job, you need to be sufficiently knowledgeable to define exactly what you want. Leave anything open to interpretation and you’ll end up comparing apples with pears in your tender responses.

Whether it’s your first time, or you’re a seasoned procurer, this is intended as a checklist to assist in framing the scope for a wayfinding project.

Wayfinding Development Project Process

Wayfinding Project Process

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If you’re about to procure or project manage a wayfinding project for the first time, this article will help you understand what to expect during the development process.

This way that way fingerpost sign

Why You Need a Wayfinding Audit and How To Go About It

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To maintain the integrity of the investment, it is important that your wayfinding information is updated to reflect any changes to building structures, brand identities and use of space. Rather than introduce another layer of information or limit attention to the affected area, these changes should be integrated seamlessly within the existing wayfinding. Otherwise, you risk creating unnecessary visual clutter, confusion and achieving lower than expected footfall. To do this successfully you need to know exactly what information is currently provided, in what form and where. In other words a wayfinding audit that catalogues the location, content and design parameters of your existing signs.

The RIBA Plan of Work Framework for managing construction projects

When to Appoint Wayfinding Consultants

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Successful delivery of large complex building projects requires an extensive team of specialist providers. To avoid costly contract variations and make sure the project remains on track, the timing of these appointments is critical. As signs tend to be installed towards the end of the build, you’d be forgiven for thinking you don’t need to worry about the wayfinding until the latter stages. Do so at your peril – here we explain why you should consider appointing a wayfinding consultant during the concept design stage.

Front cover fire safety building regulations document

Wayfinding Signage Fire Safety Regulations

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The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 comes into force in January 2023. Mandating the installation of wayfinding signage in all multi-occupancy residential buildings 18 meters or seven storeys high. Here’s an overview of what you need to do to comply.

Totem with text ranged in direction of travel

Wayfinding Procurement

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For most significant property development projects, sooner or later wayfinding or signage will come up on the to do list.  If it’s something you’ve not had to deal with recently or ever – trying to identify suitable suppliers could prove a little baffling.
Here’s a little guidance on how and where to find suitable suppliers for the job.

Happy 12th Birthday

Happy 12th Birthday To Us!

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It’s our 12th birthday – 12 years since we left the relative safety of the corporate world to set up The Velvet Principle.
A big thank you to all the wonderful people who’ve supported and worked with us over the last twelve years. May the adventures continue.