Service · Signage and wayfinding
Signage and wayfinding
Know where you are. Understand where to go.
Wayfinding organises the information in a space to help people find their way. Signage identifies places and makes the brand visible. At Mariona Agency we design both systems, connecting hierarchy, legibility and visual identity, from studying the route to preparing and coordinating the elements planned for production.
Information that appears where it is needed
A sign works through its content, but also through its position, size and relationship with its surroundings. If it appears after the decision has been made, or competes with too many messages, it loses its purpose. The design starts by studying how someone who doesn’t know the place moves through it.
We review entrances, destinations and decision points to organise the system. We define families of signs and consistent naming. The brand’s expression supports that function: it adds character without making signs harder to read or forcing visitors to interpret needlessly complex codes.
How we think about wayfinding
In a new place, every doubt is an extra step.
We place the information exactly where the question arises.
Anyone arriving knows where they are and where to go, without having to ask.
Animation: on a floor plan, a person goes round in circles without finding their way; signs appear at the decision points and the route becomes a direct orange line from the entrance to the destination.
Clear Flow and Human First
The best wayfinding is understood without reading it twice. We rank the information, cut down the messages and test the routes on site, because that is where decisions change.
We think of the person arriving for the first time, in a hurry or unsure: a visitor, a patient, a customer. Guiding people well is a way of looking after them from the moment they walk through the door.
What we developed
Routes and information map
We identify what needs to be signposted and at what point. We organise destinations, names and priorities to avoid contradictory signs or a build-up of messages.
Graphic system
We design typographic hierarchies, colours, arrows and pictograms where they are needed. We test how they read at different distances, in different lighting and in their context of use.
Signs and applications
We carry the identity onto the agreed façades, entrances and interior elements. The design takes into account proportions, the surfaces it sits on and its relationship with the architecture of the place.
Production and installation
We prepare the files and specifications included in the project. We coordinate the review of materials and locations with the relevant suppliers and technical managers.
Testing on site changes decisions
Reading on a screen doesn’t reproduce the distance, light or obstacles of a real space. That is why we plan checks in context, and samples when the project calls for them. We also consider how the information will be updated: room names, services or destinations can change, and the system has to allow for that from the design stage.
How we build the system
Understand
We review users, routes, spaces and existing signage.
Clarify
We organise destinations, messages and the types of sign needed.
Design
We develop the graphic language and the signage applications.
Refine
We check legibility, scale, materials and planned positions.
Launch
We prepare production and support the agreed installation.
Questions about signage and wayfinding
Can you work with an existing visual identity?
Yes. We adapt its elements to the wayfinding goal and to the conditions of the space. Some applications may need adjustments to contrast or hierarchy to stay legible.
Are wayfinding and signage the same thing?
No. Wayfinding provides orientation and information; signage identifies and expresses the brand in its surroundings. A project can include both and share a single visual system.
How are accessibility and safety requirements handled?
They are built into the brief and reviewed with the technical managers according to the type of space. Graphic design does not replace the regulatory checks that the relevant specialist has to carry out.
Let’s make your space easier to understand
Tell us where people struggle to find their way, or how the brand needs to present itself. We’ll design the information around the route people actually take.
Let’s talk about signage and wayfinding