Consideration in Environmental Graphics Design

Environmental graphic design is a specialized field of signage design. It pertains to developing signage for a particular environment. In many cases, this is a built environment in either rural or urban settings. However, the vast majority of environmental graphic design work is done in urban settings where the construction and design of the establishments is getting larger and more complex. The signage projects that are implemented in open air or in natural environment are not considered part of the environmental graphics projects

As the layout and design of the buildings get more complex, the need for a more effective signage is rapidly becoming the priority of the building designers and architects. In the case of all new commercial buildings and establishments, the environmental graphic design project attains significance almost from the start. Although the project is actually a subset of the activities of building construction and furnishing, the importance of the project is such that it is often given resources on priority. The aim is to make sure that a highly impactful signage projects is ready to be implemented as soon as the desired milestone is reached.

One of the most desired qualities of any environmental graphic design project is consistency. This is often the most basic requirement of the clients. Consistency in project design means that the overall look and appearance of all the signage, way finding markers and related installations has similar appearance. His is achieved by using a consistent selection of colors, fonts and design elements.

Placement of the signage is another important consideration of environmental graphic design project. In many cases, a well designed signage project loses a major part of its impact when the markers and signs are placed in less than suitable positions. Proper positioning heightens the impact of the signs and ensures that the viewers are able to perceive and digest information correctly and quickly.

How to evaluate Wayfinding Systems

Many experts have commented on the need of a scale that that be used to evaluate the success of any wayfinding system. this is important because there is really no way of discovering facts that could distinguish between a quality and not up the standard wayfinding system.

For any large venue, wayfinding system is the only way of getting people to their destination and avoiding mass confusion. This is particularly true in the case of large and distributed venues like stadiums and hospitals. Wayfinding system makes it easier for the people to understand where they are and how to get to their next point within the system.

The system for evaluating the success of a wayfinding system should include the satisfaction of the people in finding their way around the building. This is the real test of any wayfinding system. Any system that fits these criteria would be regarded as successful in its intended purpose.

The first of these criteria is the question of placement. is the system located at places and positions that a person would seek out? This is an important question because over years, people have been conditioned to look for wayfinding signs at certain locations within a building. In order to be successful, the wayfinding system should be able to use these positions and placements.

The second criterion is the question of quality of guidance. If the wayfinding system is able to direct the visitors to their intended location with minimum of problems, the system is deemed as successful.

An important part of the second question is location discovery. Wayfinding systems should be able to pinpoint the present location of the visitor. This is usually done thorough the famous “You Are Here” star or tag on the locale’s map.