Congratulations to SDS member companies dn&co and Reade Signs who, along with allpointswest (and in conjunction with accessibility consultants JBC London), have won the prestigious SEGD 2020 Honor Award for the V&A Museum London‘s 2019 completed, comprehensive wayfinding strategy.
The scheme includes over 400 directional signs over the 12 miles of corridors and 145 galleries of the V&A. It succeeds in being sympathetic to the countless pieces in the Museum’s collection and to its Grade 1-listed surroundings, navigating a careful line between confidently directing visitors whilst being sufficiently discreet to not detract from the exhibits:
“… integrated smartly and intelligently [to] form an interplay with the historical foundations of the building. The typography, compositions and colours chosen make perception, legibility, and navigation easy. The system integrates into the space and produces good orientation at decision points … not that simple a task within a complex of three buildings.” (SEGD juror)
dn&co designed the strategy, with Reade Signs fabricating the signage and allpointswest providing wayfinding consultancy. Colour has been used as a beacon and reserved to draw visitors through the busy ground floor to the paid exhibitions. Black tulipwood totems and signs have a tactility that speaks to the Museum’s preoccupation with materiality. The chamfered edges of the signage create an illusion that it’s floating. New facilities signs project from the walls making them visible from a distance. New floor numbering has also been installed. And a new map of the V&A, designed for use digitally as well as in print, is a central component of the wayfinding system, making it more approachable, legible and manageable. The icon set was drawn to harmonise with the V&A’s humanist typeface.
If you want to read more about the project, Reade Signs have completed a case study for our library which is accessible to paid up SDS members only.