WAYFINDING IN BIRMINGHAM:
Myself and a classmate visiting a variety of areas within the city of Birmingham to see their wayfinding designs, how they worked and to judge their effectiveness.
The first place which we went to was Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
The only floor map which would could find (other than a paper version which was handed to us upon arrival) was:
The map itself was an exploded view of the floors inside of the building, the colour co-ordinations were well thought out and information for what was on each level was made clear on the top right hand side. There are also small info. graphics which represent the facilities that are available and where.
One problem which I had with the wayfinding board was it's location. As there was a barrier right it front of it, there was little chance to have a closer look as some of the writing was quite small. Alongside this itself, the actual map is rather hidden in the building and not the easiest thing to spot. I'm aware that the museum itself is representing historical items and would not want a bright colourful piece to draw away from the pieces inside of it, though they could have thought of a better, not practical way to show off the wayfinding board to be helpful for everyone.
That board was the only one we could find, the only consistent wayfinding we found through the Art Museum and Gallery were silver boards, around the side of an A4 sheet of paper that had one/two arrows on them (usually two) and directed you either left or right. Each one had the name of a place which the arrow corresponded to as well as an appropriate number which had relation to the place/room.
These signs, I felt, were effective because they weren't overpowering with information and got to the point straight away by telling you all that you needed to know.
The only other sign which we could find in the museum were the ones that directed us around the top area of the museum that held the ceramics and jewellery. These were wooden boards that had a white front with details on them in black. The directional wall boards were shaped similarly to an arrow head to let you know which was around the area they required you to walk and/or told you where rooms were.
The layout grid on the 'Ceramics Gallery' board was useful if you needed to know where a specific piece was laid/set. It may also spark some interest in the visitors as they are able to see a list of everything that is on display.
Other than those examples we struggled to find an elaborate wayfinding system within the museum, which I was surprised about. Perhaps they prefer you to chose your own directions or ask a member of staff if you get lost as the building itself is not too difficult to find your way around in. Yet I do feel it would be beneficial for them to have a consistent design for the wayfinding.
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As we walked around the town of Birmingham, I noticed that there were two main finger post styles, this was a traditional looked, navy blue design and a metallic silver angular design that appeared to be much more of a modern look. The metal one's tended to be located more on the high street - I am unsure whether or not there is plans to have all of the finger posts the same, though both work effectively as they have the relevant information on them. The older finger posts did seem to have been able to withstand the weather and general wear and tear a lot more than the glass/metal version had - which in places had peeled away.
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We did intend to go around the IKON Gallery to see how their wayfinding differed from the Art Museum and Gallery (expecting it to be mroe contemporary in design) though we were disappointed to find that at the time we went it was closed due to them re-doing some of the exhibitions inside.
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Information Boards around Birmingham:
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As we had not been fully successful with getting photographs of wayfinding signs within Galleries, we ventured to the ICC, which flaunted directional boards with a TV screen in the centre that was able to show event information for the building. The directional points were clear and the white writing contrasted with the city colour of navy blue. The are positioned quite high up on a mounted platform are are close to the entrance which makes them easily visible to use, plus being in a place where a lot of people can view them at the same time.
Above doors and on walls around the building were smaller wayfinding signs in a similar design to the larger boards. Each level in the building had a different colour representing it e.g. floor three was orange and grey. This worked well as the ICC inside is an open space as you walk in and you are able to see all around the top areas and can easily locate where certain rooms/places are.
kaledo-art
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