National Media Museum gets facelift with new signage system
What started off as a simple foyer re-development has mushroomed into the creation of a whole new internal wayfinding system at the National Media Museum.
A new wayfinding and orientation system has been introduced at The National Media Museum in Bradford to help visitors navigate through their way through the attractions various exhibitions and spaces.
Initially the project, designed by Carter Wong Associates in conjunction with signage manufacturer Bolton Sign, began as a foyer development project that aimed to improve the museum’s primary information point, cinema ticketing, queuing and retail outlet. However, Carter Wong’s first stage survey revealed more complex issues affecting visitor orientation around the museum as a whole and so the project mushroomed.
The design concept for the signage takes its inspiration from the movie clapperboard, which translates into bold angles and chevrons that behave as directional arrows.
Carter Wong’s Creative Director Phil Carter explains: "Converted in the early 1980s from a purpose-built, but never used, theatre, the museum has a potentially challenging arrangement of spaces, with galleries formed at half-levels to the front and rear around the IMAX auditorium which could create an awkward visitor journey. The foyer itself did not project the personality or identity of the museum sufficiently to create a sense of arrival and, if arriving by car, it was not obvious where to enter from the rear car park. Through the design programme, information access, circulation and marketing have been addressed in a joined up way."
Commenting on the success of the overall scheme, Dean Loughran, Future Strategy Coordinator for the museum said: "The primary objective of the Foyer Project was to create a world-class welcome for our visitors on a tight budget. Comprising a variety of different elements – moving the shop and Box Office to a new shared location, the creation of a new element of the Museum in the form of our Games Lounge and the installation of a media wall as a first port of call for new visitors - wayfinding was critical to the success of the project. We were very impressed with the way Carter Wong engaged with the brief and worked with the other physical elements of the project and key stakeholders to provide a cohesive solution which looks very impressive and really seems to have worked for our audiences."