Description

All over the world, library staff are given to organizing their library spaces with an abundance of notices, stickers and signs explaining how to use the library facilities and the media within. One might, rather mischievously, suppose that this is a product of a professional compulsion to categorize, explain and inform. But it could also be shortcomings in the architecture that give rise to such behavior. The lack of adequate signage in a building – whether the product of excessive respect for the architecture or of a minimalist design aesthetic, whether because the converted building was not originally designed as a library or has not been modernized for a long while, or whether simply due to a lack of will to finance orientation and wayfinding systems – inevitably leads to precisely this phenomenon of improvisation, and it is therefore no surprise that literature for librarians invariably contains a do-it-yourself chapter.

The Swiss typographer Adrian Frutiger, an iconic designer of signage and orientation systems, has argued that “any … movement has become almost unthinkable without directional signs and inscriptions.”[1] Others, however, have demonstrated that a minimalist design approach is not necessarily incompatible, provided that the routes within a building are defined from the outset and the architecture concept facilitates intuitive passage through the building. In such cases, the wayfinding system is a product of the architecture and one needs no further orientation aids. The other extreme is the opulent use of conspicuous signage and wayfinding methods to achieve what Andrew McDonald calls a “wow effect”,[2] or to give spaces a particular atmosphere that in addition to its functional purpose contributes to the architectural quality of the building.

Libraries as Urban Magnets

Orientation and wayfinding systems begin with the external skin of the building. the Seattle Central Library designed by Rem Koolhaas’ office OMA (2004) or Zaha Hadid’s design for the Library and Learning Center of Vienna University of Economics and Business employ integral dynamic lighting concepts to announce the presence of the library within its surroundings so that the library becomes a magnet in the urban realm.

But a conspicuous outward appearance does not tell us anything about the design of the internal orientation and wayfinding system. This could, for example, be realized using quite conventional means. So what makes the orientation and wayfinding systems of libraries different from those of fun pools, zoos or airports? And what do they have in common?

Wayfinding Principles

Libraries, if we consider them purely in terms of being repositories of books, do require special consideration: the book numbers of the bibliographic classification system are the final element of a chain of wayfinding signs and labels that lead the visitor from subject area to book aisle to individual shelf. Of particular interest is the transition from the architectural wayfinding system to the bibliographic classification system. The spiral layout of the Seattle Central Library, for example, employs a novel solution to this problem using flush-fitted mats emblazoned with the numbers of the Dewey Decimal Classification system – the most widely used system in the USA – to mark the aisles. These mats can also be easily removed and placed elsewhere, making it easy and straightforward to extend or reorganize the collection as needed.[3] This design solution is a direct response to a need for flexibility and easy adaptability. A permanent sign, either in the floor or on the wall, would be much more laborious to change.

But while books still play a central, albeit gradually diminishing role, modern libra­ries are now also comprehensive service centers that handle numerous other media and digital services. In this respect, orientation and wayfinding systems in libraries differ only marginally from those of other buildings and therefore follow the general principles of communication design.[4]

In airports and rail stations, for example, the signage is conspicuous and appears frequently to reduce the stress caused by “pressure of time or anxiety about taking the wrong flight or train.”[5] In libraries, however, this may only be relevant for certain areas such as for textbook collections. In all other respects, libraries are much like any other public building where “orientation signage is an aspect that needs to be addressed for each individual situation” and “the need for a complex or a simple wayfinding system depends largely on how extensive the library space is.”[6]

A key design consideration, especially with regard to the choice of wording, is the user group it is designed for, and the vocabulary used must be adapted accordingly. People are guided by the directional signage of the wayfinding system to a particular place or object.[7] The orientation system, on the other hand, shows the “topographical location of objects”, for example on an overview plan, or “clarifies what one can expect to find where.”[8]

Mixed Reality: Space as a Social Network

Today, architects need to ask themselves how hybrid libraries that provide both printed as well as electronic media can mesh effectively with the virtual world of apps, with GPS, RFID, QR codes and NFC, with audio guides and in future also with data goggles. In the same way that architects collaborate at a certain point with interior designers, they will need to work with the designers of virtual worlds. At present, these virtual representations are usually made after completion of the building. Noteworthy examples include the online systems for the Basel University Library[9] or the Hamburg City Libraries.[10] These libraries have created visual guides to the structure of their buildings that show the location of books and services and make these available as smartphone-compatible apps to help users to find their way as well as what they are looking for.

The ZLB – Zentral – und Landesbibliothek Berlin has found a clever way of combining modern technology with the services it enables and the library’s corporate design and corresponding orientation and wayfinding system. As part of a revision of its corporate identity, the library took the opportunity to redesign its orientation and wayfinding systems. It also introduced self-service book lending using an RFID-based system. All three of these elements come together at the book returns terminal: the logo – which depending on your viewpoint could be the outline of an open book or alternatively a laptop – precedes the wording of the signs, and at the returns terminal the RFID antenna forms part of the shape of the logo. The logo is used consistently as a key component of the library’s branding concept.[11]

A System of Options

The existing literature on orientation and wayfinding systems for libraries generally covers the aspects of typography, material, form and color, signage typologies and pictograms, barrier-free access and more recently also Universal Design, as well as the elements to which these are affixed. For a comprehensive breakdown of the systematic design of classical wayfinding systems, it is worth consulting one of these informative publications, including some of the older publications. Here we will examine only some of the design options available. Focusing especially on the role of orientation and wayfinding systems as an atmospheric element of library design, we will present both classical approaches as well as some innovative and somewhat surprising examples.

Typography as a Mnemonic System and Tag Cloud

The typography of signage systems must be both clearly visible and legible: usually a sans-serif typeface such as Helvetica or Arial is recommended at a size appropriate to the viewing distance. It should be placed free of visual noise[12] and at right angles to the direction of movement.[13] For optimal visibility and legibility, signs should be mounted at a height of 1.63 m. As is the case with many rules, some designers choose to deviate from these principle guidelines: for example, the orientation and wayfinding system of the Médiathèque André Malraux in Strasbourg (Jean Marc Ibos, Myrto Vitart, 2008) employs a total of seven different typefaces, some of them in italics, and some serif faces. These have been given different colored backgrounds and the typeface denotes the genre of the books or the function of the respective place. When embedded in short passages of text, they form attractive “tag clouds“ which are applied directly to the walls, columns, doors, counters and the floor without any “additional signage bearer”.[14] Here the orientation and wayfinding system has been made an integral part of the building’s interior design concept – despite having been implemented at a late stage in the building project.[15]

The redesign of the cloakroom lockers at the Information Center of the Carl von Ossietzky State and University Library[16] in Hamburg likewise employs a kind of tag cloud while simultaneously using it as a mnemonic device: electronic lockers, which although now superseded by modern RFID-based locking mechanisms are still widely used, require library visitors to memorize a PIN number and the number of the locker, one of which is invariably forgotten by the time the visitor returns to the lockers. The library conducted a survey inviting their users to name their favorite literary figures and these were then used to label the individual lockers. The resulting tag cloud of locker doors also serves as a mnemonic device, and because it is derived from user suggestions also helps users identify with their library – a design idea that has the potential to become a trend in library locker areas.

Material and Color Choices

When choosing colors, there are essentially only two primary restrictions that narrow down the possible spectrum of colors: firstly, colors that are reserved for specific purposes in national and international norms (such as the ISO norms), for example for emergency exit routes. These are not permitted for orientation and wayfinding systems. Secondly, colors and color combinations that are not discernible by people with color vision disorders. Here the principles of Universal Design apply. Other than these, designers are not limited in their choice of colors. It is important nonetheless to find an appropriate balance in the use of color with respect to the many other dimensions of an architectural concept: architects should be aware of the psychological effect of colors, their effect on the illumination of a space, the need for sufficient contrast between textual signs and background, and not least any corporate design guidelines that should be observed.

The potential choice of materials is seemingly even greater than that of colors, although cost, durability and adaptability are ultimately often defining criteria. Obvious candidates include materials that can be shaped or worked to accommodate text directly within the material, e.g. plexiglass, polystyrene, metal, wood, glass and other materials. In the IKMZ – Informations-, Kommunikations- und Medienzentrum designed by Herzog & de Meuron in Cottbus, Germany (Herzog & de Meuron, 2004), the graphic design concept for the wayfinding system mirrors the material quality of the building’s external skin: the wayfinding system uses the same principle of silk screening and the same silver-gray color of the pattern of letters that adorn the facade.[17]

Sign and Message

From a typological viewpoint, there are many different categories of signs.[18] In order to achieve the desired effect, signs – whether in the form of words or a ­symbol – need to be carefully chosen so that they appear at the right time in the right place and within the users’ field of view.

Symbols take up less space and are less language-dependent, but the choice of whether to use symbols or words depends on the complexity of what they need to communicate, the zone where they appear within the library and the wider context of the library as a whole. Symbol-based signs such as pictograms must be individually learned by users as there is no standard set of library-specific archetypes to draw on: “A widely used and generally applicable system of pictograms for library orientation and wayfinding systems does not exist.”[19] Where symbols are no longer able to succinctly express more complex instructions or situations, words are a better choice for signage.

There are, for example, interpretative signs that help people to independently determine the purpose of an environment, and operational signs that provide instructions on how to interact within or at a particular place in the library. Directional signs, usually a combination of text and arrows or of text on an arrow-shaped sign, are a fundamental category of wayfinding systems that direct users to a particular destination. As they arrive, identification signs mark the location of their destination. Two further very similar categories are regulatory signs and prohibitory signs, and for the sake of completeness, one also often sees warning signs and honorific signs.

Formatting Space

To implement a wayfinding and orientation system, one should first establish the exact number of signage items needed, best done by considering the floor plans.[20] The rule of thumb is no more than absolutely necessary. The result is a detailed inventory of all the places where signs are needed, the type of signage items at each place and their composition in terms of typography, color, material and any other graphical elements. Lines that lead visitors through the building and connect entrances and exits can likewise be marked in the plans. The aim is to “format” a space with signage in such a way that visitors, on entering the library, can immediately and easily find their way to the central service and functional areas. A grid of anchors that mark main routes allows visitors to find their bearings from any point in the building. The elements of wayfinding systems are hierarchically organized, becoming successively more specific. Orientation systems, on the other hand, have a more informative function.

A common element is a plan of the building in the entrance area or a diagram showing the different stories at the main entrances to each level of a library. A particularly effective example can be seen at the Philological Library of the Freie Universität Berlin (Norman Foster, 2005): a red banner extends vertically next to the central stairway, adding a vivid stripe of color to the otherwise cool gray tones of the library building.

The potential options of creating signage are almost endless, limited only by what is available on the market and the overall composition: signage can take the form of panels or cubes hung from the ceiling, free-standing pedestals or stelae, panels mounted on walls and shelves, illuminated display cases, objects that project from the wall, letters (stuck) on walls, ceilings, columns on the floor, three-dimensional objects that catch the light and cast shadows, doorplates on carrels and back-office areas, notice holders and brochure stands on counters and tables, information monitors with a ticker showing library news, and so on.

The formatting of a space should also be inclusive for all users, including people with disabilities. Tactile strips on the floor allow people with visual impairments to orientate and find their way. Signage at key points can be augmented with braille lettering, and lifts can provide speech feedback.

Reclaim your Library!

Finally, not all libraries are the same: how do the needs of an academic library differ from those of a public library with respect to orientation and wayfinding systems? Although most academic libraries are part of public institutions such as universities and are therefore open to the general public, the typical user profile is more predictable and users are probably also well-educated. This may be reflected in the design, for example in the choice of wording, the use of specific terminology or more complex orientation processes.

Public libraries, on the other hand, need to be usable by people of all ages, social backgrounds and levels of education. Public libraries must therefore choose generally understandable wording and use clear design in order to cater for all its users. In library zones used predominantly by specific groups of users, the design can, however, deviate from this principle. In metropolitan libraries or in city libraries with a high proportion of multi-ethnic populations, signage may be needed in several languages. Likewise, where public libraries also include other public services, for example those provided by public departments, these should be incorporated into the overall concept – without sacrificing the recognizability of the corporate identity of these guest functions.

The public library system in its role as a democratic provider of human knowledge has the task of making its facilities as accessible as possible to everyone. To achieve this, public libraries can extend the existing orientation and wayfinding systems in the urban surroundings into the library interior, and make use of familiar patterns so that the transition from outside to inside is as seamless as possible and the interior is perceived as being a public space. The National Library of Technology (Projektil Architekti, 2009) in Prague – although not a model example of a wayfinding and orientation system – illustrates this idea through the use of urban art in architecture in order to define the library as a public institution and as a space for social interaction. The artist Dan Perjovschi[21] has created artworks on the concrete walls of the main atrium of the library that are akin to drawings, cartoons and graffiti and turn the interior into a “gigantic sketchbook”,[22] and as such into a collective territory:[23]
Reclaim your Library!

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Originally published in: Nolan Lushington, Wolfgang Rudorf, Liliane Wong, Libraries: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2016.