Ralf Herrmann:
Wayfinding & Typography

A while ago I posted a video about the design of the signage system of the new Berlin Airport. I was instantly flooded with emails, stating that the video was filled with wrong claims about who design which part of this complex design system. So I finally took it down at the same day. But [...]

The Dutch wayfinding experts from Mijksenaar released an app for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad, that collects best practices around signage and wayfinding design. The app contains a set of rules-of-thumb and the content of the app is meant to engage in discussion and understanding for wayfinding amongst professionals, designers and novices. Wayfinding and architecture have more [...]

At the University of Applied Sciences Berlin an empirical study was conducted by Sven Neumann to test the legibility of nine typefaces, including my own Wayfinding Sans typeface. The use of type in this study was based on the recommendations of the German legibility norm DIN 1450. This ensured that the study reflected a real-world [...]

In an older post I already talked about the lack of proper information about cardinal directions in modern signage systems. Instead of using the actual words North, East, South and West or showing a compass rose, color coding can also be an easy and effective way to aid orientation. This can be seen in the [...]

I always disliked the fact, that information design was understood and treated as a tiny part of graphic design. So I was happy to hear, that there is now a MSc course specifically for traffic & transport information design. I fact, I was so happy that I had to join the team of expert lecturers [...]

The beta testers of our Wayfinding Sans typeface kept asking us about support for signage pictograms. So we finally gave in. Here is a quick video preview of where we are today. Wayfinding Sans Symbols (Preview) from Ralf Herrmann on Vimeo. I would be happy receive feedback about it. A general symbol set can never [...]

“Orientation in space (and time) is the framework of cognition […] we take delight in physically distinctive, recognizable locales, and attach our feelings and meaning to them. They make us feel at home, grounded.” Kevin Lynch The word orientation is derived from Latin oriens, meaning East. It stems from the mediaeval practice of drawing maps with [...]