Wayfinding Signage for the Fire Service
In November 2020, amendments to The Building Regulations 2010 came into force. Responding to the recommendations from the Independent Review of Building, following the Grenfell Tower tragedy, these new regulations cover wayfinding signage requirements for the fire service for all apartment buildings over 11m in height with specifications for location, position, typeface and nomenclature.
Getting Hairy with It
November is the month when normally clean-shaven males put those razors away and give the Mo a go – all in the name of charity.
The Velvet Principle’s Creative Director, Sean has been keeping us all entertained with daily updates
Solstice Apartments
Latest apartment wayfinding scheme, designed and implemented for Grainger. Solstice Apartments based in the commercial heart of Milton Keynes offers 139 rental homes across six floors. The design of the wayfinding aligns with the internal finishes and brand identity,
Celebrating 10 Years
June 2020 marked The Velvet Principle’s 10th anniversary. When we started developing plans for celebrating this milestone late last year, little did we imagine that our birthday would fall during a worldwide pandemic. Any ideas of a party to
Icons, Pictograms And Symbols
Anyone involved in the world of wayfinding and sign design is likely to come across the terms pictogram, icon and symbol sooner rather than later. As jargon goes these terms, are pretty innocuous. But what’s the difference between an icon, pictogram and symbol? We give our view on their different uses in wayfinding design.
The Language Of Wayfinding Consultancy
Every sector, discipline and business establishes its own language. Using single words or acronyms to represent more complex constructs that act as communication shortcuts. It’s all very well if you’re in the know, but it can be a huge barrier to understanding if you’re not. So for anyone experiencing his or her first encounter with the world of wayfinding we thought it would be helpful to put together a bit of a checklist.
Digital Screens for Wayfinding Applications
AI, virtual/augmented reality and Internet of things might be stealing the tech limelight, but for wayfinding designers, the pace of change in digital screen technology is equally enthralling. The robustness and resolution seems to be accelerating along with a relative reduction in price (and increase in acronyms). Are we approaching a tipping point when it comes to the cost of incorporating digital screens in wayfinding signs?
Evaluating the Performance of Wayfinding Schemes
When designing a new wayfinding scheme a range of methodologies can be used to test and shape the outcome. But how can we assess the contribution to the performance of the business or destination as a whole? Here we explore different ways for evaluating the performance of wayfinding schemes.
The Art Of Vertical Banner Sign Design
Vertical banner signs are frequently seen on the sides of buildings and shops or fixed to lampposts. For multi-storey buildings, applying high level, banner signs can help cut through the visual noise and increase visibility of the brand, destination or promotional message. When it comes to the layout should the letters read from the bottom to top or vice versa?
Inclusive Design It’s About Designing for All
Historically inclusive design has tended to focus on visual or mobility impairments, with minimal consideration for neurodiversity or hidden disabilities. Thanks to a series of high-profile campaigns by a number of charities and support organisations, in recent years, things are changing. In the wayfinding world, the successful accessible toilets campaign by Crohn’s & Colitis UK is one that comes to mind. When it comes to inclusive design for cognitive impairments, there is still much work to be done.
Importance Of Landmarks in Wayfinding
Highlighted in Kevin Lynch’s seminal book on urban planning The Image of the City, landmarks play an important role in helping us understand a place. Not only do they provide the datum points that help us build a mental map, we rely on them to find our way round. Therefore, an audit of the local context to identify potential landmarks should be a key input in the development of a wayfinding strategy.
The Science and Art of Human Navigation
From The Longitudinal Prize launched in the early eighteenth century to try and solve nautical navigation; to space exploration in the mid 1900s that paved the way for GPS and Satnavs. It is bizarre, that the most advanced animals on Earth, have had to use our superior intellect to develop technology, to do what comes naturally to turtles and the Monarch butterfly.
Wayfinding – It’s a Value Adding Discipline…
So often we come across wayfinding being erroneously equated as another word for signs. To put the record straight, wayfinding is a recognised, albeit niche design discipline. There is a raft of specialist wayfinding consultancies whose business it is to design solutions to increase legibility and help people find their way round buildings, towns and cities. Where signs may or equally may not be part of the solution.
Knowing How to Use Adobe Illustrator Doesn’t Make you a Designer.
Designers use a range of sophisticated digital tools to bring their ideas to life. But however smart these softwares are, it requires specialist experience and training in the relevant design discipline to be designer
Design Consultancy – it’s a Contact Sport
Truly collaborative partnerships are key to the success of design consultancy projects. No matter how well considered a written brief, it can only ever be a sanitised, top line summary, open to interpretation. It will miss the nuance and detail that you get through talking face to face. To really capture the essence of what’s required you need to hear the stories and experience the culture and personality of the business.
Is Technology Impacting on our Engagement with our Physical Environment?
Are we relying too much on technology for navigation? What impact does this reliance have on our engagement with our environment?
How to Design Effective Pedestrian Maps and Plans
A summary of the key things you need to consider to design an effective map or plan for pedestrian wayfinding
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Tel. No: +44 20 8744 9283
Email: info@thevelvetprinciple.com