Imperial War Museum
Helping visitors navigate complex gallery spaces
An effective wayfinding scheme that uses bespoke iconography, drawn from a new brand identity, to help visitors explore the museum’s redeveloped First World War Galleries
In 2014, the Imperial War Museum unveiled its new permanent First World War Galleries and atrium. Designed by Foster + Partners, the new spaces feature more than 1,400 objects from the museum’s collection. Holmes Wood were responsible for creating a wayfinding scheme that was fully aligned with the museum’s architecture to support decision making and maximise the visitor experience. The newly developed brand informed our use of form and colour. We also took strong visual cues from object imagery in the gallery mapping to enable intuitive navigation. Overall, our scheme was designed to be responsive and adaptable to suit the phased installation of the galleries over the redevelopment timescale. Sitting sympathetically within its surroundings, the wayfinding system encourages exploration while providing clear routes through the museum spaces.
Client: Imperial War Museum, London
Architect: Foster + Partners
