We knew we were going to love this signage project the moment we received the enquiry. We’re passionate about designing signage and wayfinding that complements the surroundings and is sympathetic to the tone of the space. Bhaktivedanta Manor is a mock-Tudor house set in the most magnificent landscape, amongst tall trees, a beautiful lake and agricultural fields. The Manor was gifted to the Hare Krishna movement in 1972 by George Harrison who sought to find a larger place to replace their small, overcrowded London Temple.
Over the years, the Manor acquired more land and the estate grew from the original 17 acres to a generous 77 acres. In 2020 the Haveli was built to meet the extra demands on the estate and to avoid overcrowding in the main building. It was this development that led to this large signage and wayfinding project.
Visitors, both old and new were finding it difficult to navigate the site. Enchanting walks through their stunning gardens were well hidden and awkward to locate. Two buildings with different purposes needed effective signposting. And their sprawling estate that began on the main road stretched an entire kilometre passed their own farm, a children play area, two functional buildings, three car parks and a lake house on the east of the site. There was some legacy signage that had been introduced during the first phase of the build, but was falling short of the requirements and was difficult to read.
We began with an initial site survey, to understand the space and explore the customer journey. This part of the project is hugely beneficial because we experience the site as new visitors, as a first-time customer would. If we get lost, they’ll probably get lost too.
Our analysis of their signage needs was that we needed to reach vehicle traffic and pedestrians. It needed to be eye-catching enough to notice, but sympathetic to the surroundings. The large site demanded a suite of suitable large totems to see across long distances and display a detailed map. But also a more discreet system that could be surreptitiously placed amongst the foliage and gardens with information at critical decision making points.
Their brand designer had laid the groundwork for our designs with a well considered set of brand guidelines and a rich palette of colours. The deep magentas, plummy purples and warm oranges set the tone for the signage design. They would be easily noticed, provide great contrast for legibility and sit beautifully within the garden flora and fauna.
We follow a set of Five Wayfinding Principles when designing signage systems. The concept is to equip the visitor with a set of orientation cues that are visually consistent and placed at critical decision making points. As part of this process we also create zones of differing visual character. For this project we used a deep purple for all wayfinding signage. All totems, for both vehicles and pedestrians are the same colour, and smaller incidental wayfinding is also the same purple. This will help visitors locate directional signage quickly and easily. Even if only on a subliminal level, they will look to find signage that looked similar to the last sign they found useful. The play area and children-focussed signage is all orange. The interpretation panels and information signage is always blue. Warning signage and public notices are a ginger brown. Whilst the farm signage is always green. Once inside the farm, the wayfinding system is also green because the building is geographically separate, fully contained and unlikely to be confused with the rest of the site.
Our totems create an identity at each location and provide orientation cues for visitors. The large totems are positioned in just seven locations around the site. They are often in large or prominent spaces such as by car parks or entrances. They are designed to be seen clearly from a distance. However their position has been carefully considered to avoid Wedding photoshoots or classic photo opportunities of the stunning Manor. They also display a large custom illustrated map of the site to help visitors see their location.
The smaller, narrower totems are designed to be positioned at critical decision making points. They are smaller because they are for pedestrians who will be walking nearby and can be installed sympathetically within borders and foliage. The new smaller totem signage replaces the existing finger posts. Finger posts are great, but to be consistent across the site, we chose totems because they are much easier to update in the future.
All the wayfinding totems have a distinct directional feature. A design practice that is often used across complex signage systems. Signage to the Temple, the crowning glory of this religious site is always printed in the brand yellow. It helps identify the Temple on all signage and also honours its importance. This striking colour difference can also be seen at St Pancras Station, the London Underground and Heathrow Airport when guiding visitors to the exits.
Interpretation panels, or signage known as information boards are popular within visitor attractions such as Bhaktivedanta Manor. Visitors are invited to explore the site independently, for quiet meditation or to enjoy the tranquil gardens and lake. This sacred space has been landscaped to feature religious concepts and historic relevance. From the Japa Gardens to the Guru and Disciple Walk, our interpretation signage helps the visitors to connect with their surroundings.
We always design our signage with our client’s needs in mind. We understand that things change, anomalies happen and locations move. For this project, our client often hosts private functions, celebration days, religious festivals and weddings. These events happen in the newly built Haveli that is home to six Halls. We designed a clever signage system for these Halls to be updatable for our client. Our interchangeable signage composed of a double sided panel with standard information printed to one side and an acrylic pocket on the reverse. Our client was well equipped with a medium format printer and plotter to ensure their signage always looked professional and on-brand. A new poster can be inserted into the display pocket and the panel can be turned over. The panel itself slides horizontally into a pre-fabricated groove between the two solid oak blocks. The wooden element of this signage design reflects the wood used throughout the Haveli building.
If you’d like us to design your signage and wayfinding we’d love to hear from you. We can arrange a site survey of the space and develop a signage strategy.
Call one of our team today on 01332 613 900 or email ideas@mxdisplay.co.uk
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PERFECT FOR INTRICATE DESIGNS
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