Wetland Management

Key Issues in the Design, Development and Construction of Interpretive Signs

Source: The University Of Queensland School Of Tourism
http://www.talm.uq.edu.au/signage/guide.html

INTRODUCTION

Signs and notices play an invaluable public relations role for wetland education. They introduce people to the wetland, identify key features, provide directions, outline management issues and clarify safe usage.

Signs provide the means of giving visitors the full benefit of the experience. They allow them to geographically orient themselves, protect their safety, and enhance their enjoyment of the environment by providing them with an understanding of the wetland.

Effective signs can also play a role in minimizing the ecological impact of path users.

The University Of Queensland School Of Tourism has developed an informative website that focuses on the key issues in the design, development and construction of interpretive signs: http://www.talm.uq.edu.au/signage/guide.html

GENERAL PRINCIPLES for INTERPRETATIVE SIGNS

From: Stephen Austin State University, http://arboretum.sfasu.edu/

Accuracy goes hand in hand with credibility. Get the facts and verify they are correct.
Interpretive information must be rewarding to the visitor. Visualize what the visitor wants to know; guess what they already think; know what you want the visitor to feel.
Concentrate on one topic. Be specific and selective. Everything that could be included cannot always be presented.
Displayed text must be easily understood. Material should be stated in short, simple and complete sentences of about 50 words.
Use interesting and motivating wording, factual data, an unusual statement, a provocative quotation, anecdotes and examples, and comparisons and contrasts.

SIGN CONSTRUCTION

From: Stephen Austin State University, http://arboretum.sfasu.edu/

Physical Consideration and Design

Signs can inform, guide, and identify, acting as connectors, giving meaning to the experience, creating an impression and setting a tone. Visitors can be encouraged to walk and discover, and engage in a sensory experience of sights, smells, and sounds, as well as an intellectual and emotional experience. Interpretation is often most successful when provided in the field where sites and features are of greatest interest to visitors and can be observed firsthand.

Have a sign and/or display at the entrance to draw people into the site. Let people know they have arrived. It should invite and intrigue them to investigate, and provoke them to know more. First impressions are very important. Once on the site visitors will be more likely to further investigate. Signs can be available for use at all times and may even be lighted at night.

Play close attention to the unity of design elements when planning a sign: materials sign will be constructed of, colors, physical location. The media chosen, the materials, and the structure itself should not impose on the visitor or detract from the site, but rather enhance it. The actual setting can guide the design form, materials, and scale. Native materials can be considered if they contribute to the overall design.

Signs must be deliberately planned to meet visitor’s needs. From the entrance sign to interior signs and labels, each level should be planned to serve a specific purpose. For example, trail signs should provide an explanation of the trail and area, orientation information, and rules. Visitors to a trail are there for leisure, and signs should be developed for learning at leisure. For the highest degree of understanding, use language, terminology, vocabulary and examples familiar to and within the experience of the visitor.

Sign Faces
Design and use elements such as color, graphics, symbols, maps, and texts for maximum effect. The goal is to maximize the visitor expectation of reward and minimize the effort required to obtain that reward.

Type face and fonts.
Choose sizes and styles to achieve good readability. Do not mix styles on the same sign. In some cases a style may be chosen that reflects the desired effect or personality conveyed by the sign or display.

Lettering.
Letters should demand to be noticed, catching the visitor’s eye and holding their attention. Hierarchy of letter sizes on the same sign suggests the order in which the message should be read. Align letters with and for the eye, not on mechanical lines. Having a ragged right justification improves reading ease, is less formal, and allows for easier letter alignment.

Sign Panel Design
In deciding on material for the panel consider long-term durability, permanence, maintenance, vandalism risk, cost, and color and graphic needs. If storage during off seasons is considered, is the sign portable?

Avoid:

a billboard appearance, example: use of plywood sheet
- perfectly square panels; rectangular shapes are more visually appealing
materials that glare
materials that degrade from natural conditions such as water, salt, and insects

Visit http://www.talm.uq.edu.au/signage/guide.html
for a full description of the benefits and constraints of sign materials in Australia.

Sign Supports
Supports are often as important as the text of the sign itself. They can imply permanence, respect for, and a link to the site. When designing a sign consider the support structure in terms of purpose, relation to site, and esthetics.

Choices of material may be natural wood used in a natural form or cut into large beams or boards, native rock, or metal.

Roofs over signs protect the sign from natural elements and provide a defined, inviting space for visitors.

Design Fundamentals
Design is the organization of the visual elements of a sign, consisting of a focal point, movement, balance, unity, and proportion.

Visual Flow
Use graphics that lead the eye through the sign: curved or circular art or letter sizes.

Use converging line of artwork that move into the title or toward the text.

Break sign content, art and text into thirds arranged asymmetrically to add visual interest. If spacing is equal, and there is no variation in type size or arrangement it implies there is no focus.

Use a border to frame and connect sign’s elements.

Vertical lines imply power.