As of 26/02/24, the new edition of the Sign design guide is published and available to buy.
The new edition SDG+ retails at £40.00 + £5 P&P (within UK) per copy.
People who bought a copy of the SDG (1st Edition) in 2023 / 24 or peer reviewed the SDG+ will be able to purchase the new edition @£26 + P&P.
Paid-up SDS members will be able to buy a copy of the new edition discounted to £32 + P&P.
Please email: enquiries@signdesignsociety.co.uk to place your order, or to find out more about P&P charges for multiple copy purchases and / or overseas-bound P&P costs.
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Many of you will be familiar with the Sign design guide. It is firmly established as an authoritative guide to designing signs inclusively.
The guide is now over 20 years old, and while still doing an excellent job, we thought it was time to update it and produce a new edition. We have decided to be ambitious and increase the scope of the updated Guide. Its discussion of inclusion is now more inclusive, in line with debates on the issue over years since the first edition was published. We have also increased the guide’s scope to discuss more widely the design of wayfinding information. Signs are still integral to this discussion (of course) but it now includes maps, digital technology, and all the other sources of wayfinding information that we use when we find our way through the built environment, and what we need to think about to ensure that
our plans are inclusive.
The new edition of the guide, with a full title of Sign design guide + : a guide to designing inclusive wayfinding information, continues to provide practical guidance to experts and non-specialists alike, based on both best practice in inclusive design and the latest research.
- The new edition will be available in both digital and print formats.
- The print edition will be A4, 300pp, colour throughout.
- The digital edition will be online but not yet, and to WCAG (web content accessibility guidelines) AAA rating.
The new edition to be published by the end of February ’24. Please email Kate for more information.
Update (November ’23): Want a preview of the SDG+? Please email our Administrator for time-limited access to our October ’23 hybrid event recording (free for paid-up SDS members, otherwise £15 for non-members).
Contents list for the new Guide
1. Introduction: this guide, wayfinding design, and inclusive design
1.1 / How to use this guide
1.2 / Wayfinding design or sign design?
1.3 / What is inclusive design?
1.4 / Why inclusive design?
1.5 / Legislation and standards
2. Dimensions of difference
2.1 / Sensory difference
2.2 / Physical difference
2.3 / Cognitive difference
2.4 / Difference in sex, gender, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, and being
married or in a civil partnership
2.5 / Difference in age and health (including pregnancy)
2.6 / Difference in race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin),
culture, language, and religion or belief
2.7 / Difference in education, social background, and digital access or skills
3. Starting to design a wayfinding system
3.1 / Before you start thinking about planning your wayfinding system: strategic
definition, preparation, and briefing
3.2 / Gathering good practice
3.3 / Understanding your users
3.4 / Reviewing existing wayfinding information
3.5 / The initial appraisal of the site, building, or plan
4. Types of wayfinding information
4.1 / Advance information
4.2 / Signs
4.3 / Maps
4.4 / People
4.5 / Real-time information
4.6 / Audible information
4.7 / Tactile information
4.8 / Olfactory and other sensory wayfinding cues
4.9 / Help points, kiosks, self-service terminals, and ATMs
4.10 / Pedestrian crossings
4.11 / Technology
4.12 / Architectural wayfinding cues
5. Delivering a wayfinding system
5.1 / What is a wayfinding system?
5.2 / Make sure that your system co-ordinates with its neighbours. Or even better,
create a masterplan
5.3 / Creating a wayfinding information schedule
Sign design guide + : a guide to designing inclusive wayfinding information
Press release / version 01-01 Page 2 of 3
5.4 / Testing your wayfinding information
5.5 / Conflicting requirements
6. Designing your wayfinding information: graphic design
6.1 / Language, wording, and punctuation
6.2 / Symbols, icons, and pictograms
6.3 / Arrows
6.4 / Letterform selection
6.5 / Other languages and script systems
6.6 / Sizes for letters, symbols, and embossed characters
6.7 / Braille
6.8 / Space, layout, capitals, and lower case
6.9 / Colour and contrast
6.10 / Lifts
7. Designing your wayfinding system: product design and practicalities
7.1 / Product design
7.2 / Products and processes
7.3 / Illumination and glare
7.4 / Positioning
7.5 / Disruptions and degraded service
7.6 / The completed system and schedule
7.7 / Production: manufacture and installation
7.8 / Maintenance
7.9 / Alterations
7.10 / Post installation assessment, lessons learned
Glossary
Online resources
Bibliography
Index