In Signage by Design, Edward Luca and Bhuva Narayan examine the power of signage within libraries to make or break a library user’s experience. They write specifically about the importance of signage in mitigating library anxiety. Good signage allows patrons to navigate the library and feel more comfortable in the space.
Library End Cap Signage
The community college library I work at recently underwent extensive renovations. As part of the renovation, I was tasked with creating new end cap signs for the library shelves. Before sitting down to design the signs, I hadn’t really considered how many decisions had to be made concerning the signs. As I began to look up signage from other libraries, I realized that there were so many factors to consider.
Check out this Pinterest Board with different examples of end cap signage
- Color
- White background with black text?
- Black background with white text?
- Multicolored?
- Font
- Do you choose a serif or sans serif font?
- Do you use one font or multiple?
- How big do you make the font?
- Should all the text be the same size or should you have a larger font size for the call number ranges
- Alignment and Arrows
- Is it enough to align the call number and subject headings to the correct side of the endcap or do you also need to have arrows pointing to the aisle for greater emphasis?
- Call Numbers (we use the Library of Congress Classification System)
- Do you include call numbers or just subject headings?
- If you include call numbers, how specific do you make the range?
- Just the general class?
- All the way to the Cutter Number?
- Subject Headings
- Should you include subjects on the signage or does it make it too cluttered?
- If you do include subject headings, how many do you put on the signs?
The goal of all of these decisions was to create helpful signage. The signage had to be easily legible, accessible, and provide enough information for most students to feel comfortable navigating the shelves without assistance. It also had to be flexible enough to allow for minor shifting of books. I landed on a white background with a black, sans serif font. We use this same font in most other signage around the space.
| Helpful Tip: I highly recommend choosing a few fonts to use in signage that can help “brand” your library. We have three primary fonts we use: two sans serif fonts (one bolder and more compact than the other) and one font that is a little more youthful and fun. We can always use a font outside of our brand guide if it fits an occasion better, but having consistent fonts on signage helps cut down on visual clutter. |
The call number ranges include the general class and the first set of numbers defining the subject. The librarians determined the most popular subject headings within the range to include on the signage. I don’t think there is such a thing as perfect signage, but intentionally designing signage for legibility, accessibility, and navigability can help make your space more welcoming and useful for patrons.
I really like how so much though can go into signage! I find fonts to be really interesting when choosing the signage because some fonts are better to read digitally versus physically. I think the signage you created at your library is so cool and was designed with the intention to help make the space more welcoming and inclusive for patrons.
Thanks, @adalie! Did you take INFO287: User Experience? It was a fun class. Re-designing library signage was one of the assignments.
I did not, but that sounds like a very helpful class!