Edmonton Public Library campaign to brand their branches.
Principles of design: Contract, Alignment, Repetition, Proximity
Taken at my local grocery store, the placement of discreet LED lighting on the lip of the shelf creates a dramatic illumination that draws the eye. This is an example of how light and movement can be in signage and wayfinding.
Known as "Banner Blindness," this cartoon illustrates the identified human behavior to (consciously or unconsciously) ignore advertising due to its intrusive presence in media. Remember, more signage isn't a solution. It might be the problem.
No matter how good the design is, if wayfinding that doesn't reflect the language used by your community, the wayfinding will fail. Do you know how your patrons think about your library? Is "Reference Desk" a meaningful prompt, or would "Information" resonate? "Circulation" or "Customer Service"?
Here are a few UX activities to help you identify how your patrons think about your library.
1. Penny Poll - set up a few jars with prompts and invite folks to vote for their preference with a penny.
2. Take a Tour - ask a patron to give you a tour of the library. How do they refer to the areas they show you? Take note of the language the patrons use. (Also worth noting what excites the patron and what they overlook).
3. Fly on the Wall - ask a patron to let you observe them perform a task (e.g. double sided printing) while they think out loud, sharing their thought process. This gives you a window into how the patron thinks about the library, and might offer insight that improves effectiveness of posted instructions. (This activity may require IRB review.)
4. 3 Things - (this one won't give you insight into your patrons' thinking, but it is informative for wayfinding projects). Ask a friend or family member to go in a store they are not familiar with and locate three mildly obscure items of your choosing. (For instance, ask your nephew to go to Michaels Arts & Crafts and find blue calligraphy ink, pastel puff balls, and a label printer cartridge. Or ask your single friend with empty cupboards to go with you to Costco and find devil dogs, a 12" skillet, and a case of individual ketchup packets.) Observe your companion. Encourage your companion to think out loud. Ask them questions probing what they are thinking, where they're looking, why they are looking there, and how they feel during the activity. These observations provide you with an opportunity to note shopping behaviors typical of those in your community. Doing so outside of the library puts you in a more neutral position to observe critically.
Often we're "too close" to libraries to see them as the patrons do. These activities offer an opportunity to reframe your questions with a patron's perspective.
There's any number of tools you can use to achieve your wayfinding and signage goals. Here are a few to consider:
Office printer
Cricut machine (vinyl cutter)
Laminator
Die punch (Ellison dies aren't just for the kids library!)
Vendors (go on, get a quote. There's no obligation and you might be surprised at how affordable it is.)