During the first semester, I focused on
gathering researched. I looked at various areas, such as adult
wayfinding, children's wayfinding, wayfinding for buildings and for
the outdoors. After undergoing this research, I found definite
patterns emerging. Bright colours and the inclusion of characters
being some of the recurring imagery for children's wayfinding.
For, at the start of the semester, I
looked at wayfinding in children's hospitals. In the Royal Children's
Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital (see more here) characters were
painted across walls to provide a calming, welcome distraction, while
they also appeared on directional signs. This was because children
are more likely to interact with images rather than words and they
therefore notice characters first. Characters were also integrated
into outdoor wayfinding for children, such as trails. During
research, I noticed that there seemed to be a “main” character,
which was used to direct the children around certain areas, while
also popping up to explain certain facts. Hoveton Hall Garden's used
a dragonfly, Harry Hover, an “instant success”, Bridgend'sHeritage used a colourful owl character, while Whinlatter
Forest used a squirrel and took the Stick Man character from a
popular children's book. My research shows that children
interact well with characters, so this is something that I would
consider in the production of my work.
During primary research at Whinlatter
forest, the cohesion of information design was realised to be
crucial. The Stick Man trail had signs marking its start and
finish to avoid confusion. During this trail, there was also constant
markers for encouragement and to avoid the hiker from getting lost.
The Squirrel Scurry meanwhile did not have this and therefore
confusion arose (see more here). The importance of use of colour for
signs was also highlighted. A trail should use their own unique
colours, making sure that they differentiate from any other
surrounding signs to avoid confusion. This was again where the
Squirrel Scurry trail became problematic, as it used red, as did an
adult trail. If the colour and brand of these signs were unique then
they could have also been easily spotted from a distance. Bright
colours stand out amongst the green and brown of the surrounding
wood, so contrasting primary colours proved to be the most
successful. Dark greens and browns could have become lost, blending
into their surroundings, and an information board or sign should be
easily recognisable.
I found that activities and interactive
elements were also important in keeping the attention of young
children. The London Transport Museum used stamps, children where
given activity sheets for numerous forest trails etc. This helped to
keep their attention throughout the day.
Simplified maps were also important so
that children would be more likely to understand them, while most
designers also used obvious, understandable shapes.
To see more of my research please look through my blog.
