MERL Wayfinding & Signage design Design document
Arun Krishna Rajendran yd864992@reading.ac.uk 075345 09177
CONTENTS Executive summary Introduction
III V
Approach About MERL
1 2 4 11 13 27 29
Site audit Existing wayfinding system User analysis Museum collections Design inspiration Sign family
Summary Acknowledgement
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38 38
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Executive summary
Executive summary Though museums are primarily intended to be explorative in terms of their function, the importance of signage and wayfinding in such spaces can not be overlooked. They form an integral part of the narration and the visitor experience. A good museum experience is where the visitor is aware of all the attractions and galleries so that the visitor will not miss out any part of the display and so will be able to take back a great deal of knowledge with him. The visitor should also be made aware about the essential and other facilities available at the museum. The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) is museum that performs varied functions. This means that there will be varied user groups leading to undesired crossover of activities. The museum is undergoing renovations and now is the right time to design the signage and wayfinding system. The internal signage and wayfinding system for MERL will be one such system which shall reflect the above mentioned narration and the visitor experience.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Introduction Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) is undergoing renovations as part of its development plan. The overall aim of this development plan is to attract more visitors and to reinforce the presence of MERL in a national level. As part of the development, the museum is reinterpreting its collections and archives and is in need of a signage and wayfinding strategy that will respond to the changes that the museum is currently implementing. This renovation involves the rearranging of galleries, creating new visitor circulation, reinterpreting the collections and new display methods. This calls for a new signage and wayfinding system for the museum. This document briefly outlines the creative process behind the final design solution. The document talks about the approach, user journeys and the design process of the wayfinding system.
Aim To provide a signage and wayfinding system for the Museum of English Rural Life, which will be cohesive with the nature of the displays, the content and the intended narration of the museum and thus augment the visitor experience and make the museum more friendly and accessible to all the user groups identified.
Arun Rajendran
Introduction
Objectives The following are the objectives of the wayfinding project. ▶▶ To understand the various spaces of the museum and the functions (static/dynamic) they perform. ▶▶ To understand the collections and archives of the museum and try to get an essence of the story that the museum intends to narrate. ▶▶ To understand the various user groups who will be using the museum at various levels and analyse the signage and wayfinding needs of the different usergroups. ▶▶ To understand the needs and the functioning of the museum as a system to determine the nature of the design proposal. ▶▶ To understand the regulation of the interventions in grade 2 listed buildings and design a responsive solution.
Limitations As the museum is undergoing renovations, there are few limitations that affect the scope of the work. ▶▶ A study using the prototypes in their actual scale in the actual setting is not possible because of the health and safety measures exercised by the contractors. ▶▶ Photography is restricted only to some parts of the museum. This means, that the galleries cannot be photographed to visualise the mock-ups. ▶▶ The collections of the museum are enormous and is hard to interpret them in a such a short span. However, best effort will be put to understand the nature of the collections and the display.
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Approach
Approach The first and the foremost step in the design process is to choose the approach. For this project, a three stage process was employed. The three stages of the process are: ▶▶ Discovery ▶▶ Transforming and ▶▶ Making Discovery The discovery stage involves the understanding of the museum: its functions, the functioning, the collections, and the users. Transforming The transforming stage involves the generation of ideas and concepts and working on them. Making The making stage involves the refinement of the ideas and finalising the sign locations, sign types, colour, scale and typography.
Discovery ▶▶ Understanding the museum ▶▶ User group analysis ▶▶ Understanding the museum collections
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Transforming ▶▶ Concept generation ▶▶ Design development
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Making ▶▶ Design refinement ▶▶ Specifications ▶▶ Handing over
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
About MERL In 1951 the University of Reading established the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) as a pre-eminent resource for rural heritage with designated collections comprising rural and social history material, archives (including photographic, AV) and a library collection. MERL is also widely recognised to have played a pioneering role amongst a generation of social and rural history museums, and remains a leader in the rural museums subject specialist network. The majority of the collections date from 1850-1950, with particular strengths in collections relating to traditional agricultural practice. The Museum holds approximately 30,000 objects collected over the last 200 years, 100,000 volumes across various disciplines, a photographic and film archive of over 1 million photographs, and many hundreds of hours of film.
Need for the project In 2005, the Museum of English Rural Life moved to its current location, a grade 2 listed building which is a part of the University of Reading’s London road campus. Since then, the museum has seen a five fold increase in annual visitor numbers to the site. Yet, the museum was less successful in achieving its primary target, attracting the local communities and other ethnic minority communities. The museum is used by general public, students, academicians and researchers. The museum has areas that are exclusive only to the staff and are made accessible upon request. This calls for a strong signage and wayfinding strategy that will divert the different user-groups to their intended spaces thus reducing the stress both to the users and the museum staff equally.
Arun Rajendran
About MERL
MERL during its inception
Wagons in the museum
Archives and collections
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Site audit Site audits enables one to have an understanding of the site: its needs, the scale, the challenges and the limitations that the site offers. The site audit starts with studying the floor plans. The main zones of the museum are first segregated. This ensures where the problematic areas are and where more attention has to be paid. This is called zoning.
Zoning Museum Reading & seminar rooms Archives & collections Garden
Zones of the museum
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The museum complex could be divided into four blocks based on their functions. The parts of the museum complex are: ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶
Museum Reading & seminar rooms Archives & collections Garden
Site audit
Museum The museum block is made up of two floors. The entrance is at the ground floor which acts as the common entrance to the rest of the blocks as well. There is a service entry at the rear end of the museum and three doors to the garden. The museum has the galleries and leaning spaces. Reading rooms & seminar rooms This part of the complex houses the library, reading rooms, seminar and conference rooms. The temporary exhibition is also located at this part of the building. This is the original building where the museum moved at first. It is a grade II listed heritage building where lot of design interventions are not possible. The existing signage in the part of the building, perform their function well some extent and are not part of the scope of work in this project Archives & collections The archives & collections block is not open to the general public. It houses the large collections of artefacts, books, and objects which the museum has collected over the years. This block also has the administrative offices and staff office. The signage at these sections are targeted only at the staff and they are adequate for them. Garden The museum has a large garden that is accessible to the public and the visitors. Activities for school children and families are hosted in the garden. Signs to the garden is to made prominent so that the intended visitor flow to this are is achieved. Also, signs to other areas are to be shown from the garden as well.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
The initial zoning has given five areas in the museum complex. These five areas form an essential part of the museum complex and their functions are interconnected so that the museum functions smoothly in an effective manner. Based on the functions, the zones are studied in detail. Museum The museum is the most important part of the complex. Most of the people coming to the museum will be the visitors. This block of the complex is crucial as the entry to all other parts of the building is at this part of the building. The museum houses the galleries, reception, cafe, study area and toilets. This shows that a varied set of activities will be happening at the museum. This shows that this part of the museum requires more attention when designing. Reading rooms & seminar rooms This part of the complex attracts the second biggest users. They are used by full time students of museum studies and other students from the University of Reading. The seminar and conference rooms are rented for events hosted by NHS and other private establishments. Archives & collections The archives & collections is also a very important part of the museum. These areas are only accessed by the staff. The controlled entry through Biometric access makes it impossible for the visitors to enter these part of the building. Garden The garden is to be developed as another attraction of the museum, featuring an edible garden. The garden provides a change from the galleries and is a place for activities and relaxation.
Arun Rajendran
Site audit
Zones of the museum
Legend Social leaning
Garden
Staff only area
Welcome/Shop
Exhibition
Galleries
Orientation
Toilets
Reading room/Library
Cafe
Classrooms
Seminar rooms
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Arun Rajendran
Site audit
It is evident that the museum is the main part requiring the wayfinding and signage system and is the only part to be designed in the design project. The museum area has sub areas that have to be analysed. The functions of the sub areas are analysed. Welcome/Shop This area has the reception and the shop. Students and other visitors have to report at the reception due to health and safety reasons. Orientation The orientation area is where the visitors are given orientation about the museum and its collections. The orientation area also houses a huge display. Cafe The cafe is adjacent to the orientation. The cafe will be used by the visitors, staff and all types of users visiting the museum Social learning Social learning is an area dedicated to the patrons. They are used for interactions and small discussions. Garden The garden is used by mainly the visitors and the students. They are going to be one of the main features of the museum. Exhibition The temporary exhibition changes frequently and now is seen mostly by the visitors. Because of its location, it is hardly seen the visitors. Classrooms The educational suite will be used by the students when it is free. The space is also used when school children pay a visit to the museum. This space is used for planning activities and showing movies for them. There are also class rooms in the upper floor which are exclusive only to the students.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Galleries The galleries showcase the excellent collections of the museum. The displays are reinterpreted. New projection systems are installed and the galleries are arranged thematically. There are 9 galleries in total. Eight are in the ground floor and one in the upper floor in addition to the newly added Ladybird gallery. Reading room/Library The reading room and the library is used by the full time students of Museum studies, students from the University of Reading, research scholars from across the country Seminar/Conference rooms The seminar rooms and conference rooms are rented by the NHS for their monthly meetings and are also rented by other private organisations for hosting events. Workshop/Exhibition studio/Treatment room These spaces are used by the curator and technicians who handle the artefacts. They are occasionally open to the full time students. These spaces are not allowed for public viewing. Toilets There are two toilets in the museum block. One near the social learning space is one which the museum intends to use. The one at the end of the museum is for the physically challenged people.
Arun Rajendran
Site audit
Existing wayfinding system The existing wayfinding system in the museum is studied. This is done to ensure if the existing signs found in the graded building is good enough and if it could provide any insights in the design. There are two boards facing the road announcing the presence of the museum and the services. The design follows the scheme used by the University of Reading’s signage system. There are few boards about parking but no information on the opening hours and other contact details are available at this point. The reading rooms, library, seminar rooms and archives are located in the graded building of the museum complex. This part of the building is not frequented and despite that fact has more signage when compared to the museum part where visitor flow is high. These signs are not visible at the reception and is only visible from the social learning space onwards. Some of the signs are found to be missing arrows. As this part of the museum complex falls under the graded buildings, design interventions are not very encouraged. The signage at this part of the building, despite its minor flaws performs well and solves the purpose to a certain extent.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Entrance sign: The main sign follows the design language used by the University of Reading
Directional signs: The directional signs are located far inside the social leaning space
Missing arrows: Some of the directional signs miss arrows
Locational sign with insert panel:
Parking information: There are two small boards giving information about parking
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User analysis
User analysis This is the most important of the design process. The users of the museums are identified and their needs are understood. Who are the main users of MERL? Where do they come from? What do they expect from the museum? These are some of the questions will deive the user analysis. The user analysis was done through persona and user journeys. To understand the museum users, the functions are described first.
Functions of MERL MERL is a very dynamic museum. It is not only functions as a museum but as a place for leaning, research and relaxation. The museum, along with the University of Reading runs an undergraduate programme on museum studies. The majority of the teaching takes place in the museum where the students can interact with the artefacts and learn. The archives and collections of MERL attracts a lot of scholars and researchers from all over the UK. The special collections are made available through prior request. The museum also has begun a partnership with Royal Berkshire Hospital(RBH) to help treat dementia by using the museum artefacts and photographic collections. The museum also hosts sessions for school children. It also rents out the seminar and conference rooms for outside events. These information were collected from interviewing the museum curator and the project manager and from the museum’s website and blog. The key users identified are: ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶
Visitors Full time students Patrons of the museum Researchers School groups Seminar attendees Staff Patients from RBH
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Persona Persona helps to get an understanding of the user needs and gives a base to approach the problem. The broader user groups are narrowed down to four users ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶
Visitors Full time students & scholars Patrons People from RBH
Natasha Natasha is 23 years old and is from Reading. Natasha is an undergraduate student from the University of Reading. She loves visiting museums. She also likes cycling and exploring the countryside. “The first time my friends and I had planned to visit the museum it was closed. We could not find any information regarding the opening hours and had to use our mobile phones to get the details.”
Mary & Stuart 43yrs & 54yrs respectively. Living in Caversham. Mary and Stuart are patrons of the museum for the past 15 years. Mary is an artist and Stuart a writer. The couple often visit the museum for taking inspiration for their work. “Many a times we have had visitors unintentionally walking into the discussions in the social learning area thinking that the museum starts from there.”
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Thomas Thomas is 35 years old and is from London. Thomas is a Ph.D scholar and visits MERL very often to access the archives and the special collections for his research. “I had to ask the receptionist for the way to the reading rooms, the first time I visited the museum. The signs were a little tricky to find.”
Paula Paula is 30 years old and is from Andover. Paula is an administrative staff working for the NHS. She is incharge of hiring the halls at MERL and organising the events for NHS. “Every time I hire a hall at MERL for of one our meetings or seminars, I have to make sure that the museum staff is always available at the reception or I have to put up a temporary sign at the reception to guide the attendees.”
The persona study shows us that the museum means different functions to different ppeople and their needs are very varied. This reinforces the need for a stonger signage and wayfinding stratergey in the museum. ahe needs are very varied and thus it can not be overcome by any architectural interventions as the building falls under graded buildings. Clear signage will ensure that the users will be directed to their destinations without relying on the staff, thus reducing strain at both ends.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
User journey The paths taken by the visitor are traced onto the floor plan. This shows how the visitor will navigate through the space and where the decision points are. They help in deciding the sign locations. The user journey will help to identify the following aspects of the user journey process: ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶ ▶▶
Intended path Possible diversions Decision points & Key spaces
Intended path These are the paths which are intended by the museum to be taken by the visitor. This path ensures that the visitor will not miss any of the galleries and special attractions. Possible diversions There is no strict rule that the visitor will have to stick to the intended path framed by the museum. The visitor is free to choose where to start and what to see. These paths show the possible diversions the users might take. Decision points Decision points are where the user has to choice to take diversion to two or more places. Identifying these points is a key task in the design process an much of the signage will ne concentrated at these points. Key spaces Key spaces are the destinations that the users are interested in. Their hierarchy in the user flow is of prime importance as they inform the content that will appear on the signs.
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Legend Intended path Diversion Decision point Key spaces
Schematic flow of the visitor in the museum
Visitor flow in the museum
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
From the schematic user flow, it is evident that the visitor has four possible roots to start his journey from the reception. This is a challenge as it is essential to inform the visitor about the other spaces at the appropriate locations so that the visitor will not miss any gallery or attraction.
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Legend Intended path Diversion Decision point Key spaces
Schematic flow of the patron in the museum
Patron flow in the museum
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Patrons are regular visitors, contributors or VIPs. It is essential that these people are well informed about the latest exhibitions. At the moment there aren’t any signs directing them to the temporary exhibition. They are only aware through newsletters and through the museum’s website.
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Legend Intended path Diversion Decision point Key spaces
Schematic flow of the student in the museum
Student flow in the museum
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
The student group comprises of not only the students from the University of Reading but students and scholars from various other academic and research institutions. The probability of these students visiting the galleries are less are to be directed to the next block where the library and reading rooms are.
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Legend Intended path Diversion Decision point Key spaces
Schematic flow of the people from RBH in the museum
Visitors from RBH flow in the museum
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
The museum had partnered with the Royal Berkshire Hospital to share the garden with them This means patients and carers will be using the garden. It is highly essential that these crowd are properly channelled so that unintentional crossover of user groups do not happen.
Arun Rajendran
User analysis
Plan showing the initial sign plan
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
The initial sign plan shows where the signs are to be located and what type of information are to be presented. At this stage the type of signs are not looked at.
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Museum collections
Museum collections The majority of the collections date from 1850-1950, with particular strengths in collections relating to traditional agricultural practice. The Museum holds approximately 30,000 objects collected over the last 200 years, 100,000 volumes across various disciplines, a photographic and film archive of over 1 million photographs, and many hundreds of hours of film. The museum houses the most comprehensive national collection of objects, books and archives relating to the history of food, farming and the countryside. The collection of Lavinia Dugan Smith (1870-1944) was transferred to the Museum in 1952. She had used the objects to educate children and the Museum continues to promote the use of collections to deepen public understanding of food, farming and the countryside. The strengths of the collection include: records of major agricultural manufacturing firms; historic archives of agricultural organisations and cooperatives; large collections of personal records and journals of farm workers; company accounts of farms across England; and films relating to the countryside and agriculture.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Wagons
Objects related to agriculture & farming
Photographic collection
Rare books
Artifact
Vintage posters
Pole heads
Paintings
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Design inspiration
Design inspiration After the mass production of wrought iron, signs were mainly made of them. They could be seen everywhere, from farms to houses and from pubs to palaces. Silhouettes of prominent scenes, pets, sceneries, were the main theme. Some even had elaborate paintings and 3 dimensional figures. These signs dotted all around the villages. It was a common sight to see these signs in village entrances, farms, pubs and even in houses. The signs were mostly in black wrought iron metal with letters in gold colour. Buildings of lesser importance or of humbler stature had the letters painted in white. The letter forms were either hand painted or embossed. The letters were mostly in title case in serif typefaces. These signs eventually evolved into elaborate paintings and 3 dimensional figures overtaking the silhouette type of signs.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Village signs
Sign collection in the museum
Street signs
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Sign family
Sign family After studying the user needs the type of signs needed were determined. There are three types of signs identified: ▶▶ Regulatory signs ▶▶ Directional signs & ▶▶ Location signs
LANDSCAPE & ENVIRONMENT
Wagon Walk
Museum of English Rural Life
Visitor Regulations You are not allowed to consume food and drink inside the Museum, except in the cafe. Smoking is not permitted on the Museum premises. If you have a disability, you may be accompanied in the Museum by your guide, assistant or companion animal. You are not allowed to bring animals into the Museum under any other circumstance. You must not bring into the Museum any item of luggage which has a size greater than 40x40x5ocm or a weight greater than 8kg.
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Library & Archives Reading Rooms Seminar Room Conference Room Toilets
Accessible Toilet
You will not hold us liable if we remove or destroy, due to saftey reasons, any property that you have left unattended. Except where indicated by notices, you are permitted to use hand-held cameras (including mobile phones) with flash bulbs or flash units, and audio and film recording equipment not requiring a stand. You are requested to turn your phone to silent in the galleries, library and reading rooms.
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Regulatory sign These signs provide information about the restrictions and the regulations to be followed in the museum. At the moment there are no signs giving the information. The receptionist has to give out the information at the appropriate time to the appropriate person. There are two regulatory signs planned. One is at the outside where information about parking, opening hours etc., are given. The other one is to be located at the museum reception. Directional sign These signs give directions to the various spaces within the museum. Initially there were two types of directional signs. The type 1 gives directions to the other spaces. Type 2 is to be found within the galleries leading to the other galleries. Location sign These signs are indicative in nature. They denote the gallery in which the visitor is at the moment. They are to be placed at thresholds between two galleries.
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Sign family
Regulatory sign The colour of the regulatory sign is in black to match it to the theme. The branding of the museum is also included in the design. This sign is located at the welcome area so that all the users of the museum are made aware about the regulations of the museum. The sign is made up of iron panel with a matte finish. This prevents any glare and reflections from the lights, improving the legibility. Size: 45x70cm Text: 45 & 36pt
Regulatory sign
Directional sign Type 1 These signs provide directions to the other spaces within the museum. Like the regulatory sign, the text is reversed here as well. The sign at the reception has a separate insert panel for the temporary exhibition as it would draw attention to it encouraging even the normal visitors to visit the museum. Size: 45x40cm Text: 100pt Directional sign Type 1
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Directional sign Type 2
Directional sign Type 2
The type 2 directional sign is used within the galleries or places of significant activities. These are designed to be in tune with the location signs. They are redesigned to look different from that of the location signs. Their decorations are a direct reflection of the village signs. Size: varying widthx17cm Text: 100pt
Directional sign Type 2
Location sign These signs are used as location markers. They are used in the galleries to label them. The text is in title case which will set apart from the other signs. Also the colour of the text is exclusive to this sign type only. Appropriate scenes depicting the theme of the galleries are presented in these type of signs. Size: 45x43cm Text: 120pt
Locational sign
Space label These signs are used as location labels to places like toilets, exhibition room or where the user flow is less and restricted.. They are designed in tune with the design language of the entire scheme. Space labels
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Size: varying widthx17cm Text: 100pt
Sign family
Legend Directional sign Type 1
Promotional sign
Regulatory sign
Room/Space label
Directional sign Type 2
Identification sign
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Arun Rajendran
Sign family
Colour From the sample images and live samples, it is observed that the signs were on black metal boards. This colour, has a good contrast with the pale shades to be used on the museum walls and ceiling. The colour scheme is seen as an extension of the experience of the town into the museum. The labels have gold colour letters and all the other signs have white lettering implying the significance of the space.
Typography KINDERSLEY GRAND ARCADE Kindersley Grand Arcade QUADRATT SANS BOLD Quadratt Sans Bold Quadratt Sans Regular
All the signs of that period were of serif typeface. They were also in title case in most cases. Upon observing the street signs of the smaller towns and villages, a typeface called Kindersley Grand Arcade was chosen. This makes the design cohesive with the theme and as well as the street signs around the museum. For the item labels and description Quatdratt Sans was chosen by the display designers. The two fonts have a calligraphic quality that compliments each other and contribute in adding to the rustic charm of the design and the museum.
Pictogram
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The pictograms tend to stick to the basics. They are not heavily styled and retain their basic properties for better legibility. These are used only in the regulation signs and are avoided on the directional signs as they have the cut-outs already depicting the nature of displays and the theme of the galleries..
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MERL Wayfinding and Signage design
Summary With the current construction pace and situation, a clearer picture on the scale of the signs and their legibility can not be firmly determined. For this, the dummies of the signs have to be made and observed on site. This is only possible when the site cleared to some extent so that the viewing distance and legibility can be tested. The design presented here is only the initial scheme which will be accurately worked on once the site is cleared from the scaffoldings and machinery. However, the location of the signs and the type of information to be presented shall remain the same. This document provides the indicative look of the signs. The dimensions of the signs and the text sizes are not final and are based on the tests conducted in a similar space. However, the designer, upon approval from the Museum curator and project manager will continue to proceed the design development in the direction and the design language outlined in this document.
Acknowledgement I would like to thank the museum curator Isabel Hughes, the project manager David Neilson and the project officer Adam Kozary for their continuous support and inputs. All photographs in the report have been collected from various sources throughout the internet, and have been used for reference only.
Arun Rajendran