Library Signage and Wayfinding Design: Communicating Effectively with Your Users

This book connects wayfinding and signage with user experience (UX) design principles to assist libraries in creating positive, welcoming signage that communicates effectively and efficiently.

Take a more user-centered approach to crafting library signage with this handy guide. Well-designed signage is clear, direct, and reduces confusion and frustration among library users and library workers alike--and also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), bolstering accessibility. Using the principles and examples laid out by Polger, you’ll learn

• how to spot the telltale features of poor design, from signage that’s wordy, passive aggressive, too small, unfriendly or threatening, to wayfinding that uses inconsistent terminology or different color schemes or typefaces;
• why taking a UX (user experience) approach can help make the library a welcoming space;
• core UX criteria for effective wayfinding design, such as the specific design zones of a sign, appropriate typefaces, color schemata, text to image ratio, text and image sizes, contrast, and viewing distance;
• about important considerations like placement and touchpoints;
• best practices for using ADA compliance guidelines when performing a library signage audit;
• special approaches for digital signage; and
• techniques that signage designers can use when studying library users to better understand their perceptions, feelings, and attitudes regarding signage and wayfinding.

Mark Aaron Polger is associate professor and coordinator of library outreach at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York (CUNY). His responsibilities include coordinating the library’s marketing and outreach activities, engaging in campus partnerships, promoting library events, and coordinating assessment of library services and resources. His research interests include library marketing, library signage, and user experience (UX) design. He is most interested in how users interact with the library’s physical and virtual touch points; specifically, the website, signage, and promotional materials. He has written and presented on topics ranging from library marketing strategies, faculty outreach, library jargon, and library signage. Originally from Montreal, Canada, he moved to New York City in 2008.