Signage: Better None Than Bad
Leah L. White
Mon, 07/12/2010 - 15:00
Positive and welcoming, these are the essential characteristics of signs that are truly designed to help.
PrintA quick search of the photo website Flickr for the keywords “library signage” can produce interesting results. You will find everything from café-style chalkboard advertisements to sheets of white paper with a few pieces of clip art thrown in.
Poor visual communication can create a frustrating environment for users, but it's a practice that librarians commonly cling to. People eating in your library? Tape a piece of paper to the wall with a picture of a burger that has a large red X through it and there you go, problem solved!
Our desire to avoid confrontation and our inability to understand the user get in the way of providing the highest level of service. Bad signs exist in all types of libraries, victimizing users without bias and leading to some unwelcome encounters. It makes me wonder if a bad sign is truly better than nothing or just making things worse.
Signs can serve several functions but generally fall into two categories: library marketing and communicating library policies. Many librarians and administrators agree that it's important to communicate that the library is a pleasant and studious institution, but sign-makers go astray when they create signage in an effort to shift blame or passive-aggressively punish users for presuming they have certain rights while using the library. Such negative signage insults our patrons instead of guiding them or communicating policies in a positive and efficient manner. A well-written sign, inviting and creatively designed, can do so much; an insulting sign has the potential to do more damage than good.
Many library users return to libraries because there is something special that keeps them coming back. However, if you welcome them at the entrance with insulting signage, people will think twice about patronizing such an institution. What would happen if we took all those signs away? While the situation would not be ideal, it is still preferable to poor signage. Patrons would consistently need to ask for assistance at service points. While it is nice to have those stats, the time of the staff could be better spent.
Now let’s take the example of difficult-to-read or inaccurate signs. What would the users do then? They would find resources in another way that doesn't involve the library. In both of these situations, the patron thinks less of the library, but which is worse? Having to interact with patrons in order to assist their needs when they are lost and confused, or having bad signage that not only confuses users but can make them frustrated and in some cases angry? I would argue the former, while definitely not ideal, is a better alternative to the latter.
Easy-to-read, nonjudgmental signage is the best practice. Its important for library staff to remember that even if we are frustrated, trying to convey that frustration in sign format is never worth it. The sign will simply make the library look like the bad guy or in most cases, completely out of touch. Positive and effective communication with our users is vital to libraries: “Welcome” and “Need Help? Ask Your Librarian.”
As Jeannette Woodward notes in Countdown to a New Library: Managing the Building Project (second edition, ALA Editions) “The appropriate use of signs can considerably reduce the number of simple directional questions asked at service desks, as well as make users aware of the full range of library services and resources available to them. A complete signage system can include changeable floor signs, hanging and wall-mounted directional signs, room-identification signs, and point of use instructional signs where appropriate. The hallmark of a really good system, however, is its ability to respond to the user’s need to progress from general to specific information and provide directional information at decision points where choices must be made.”
LEAH L. WHITE is the readers services librarian at Morton Grove (Ill.) Public Library and cofounder of the Chicago Deskset.
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Comments
some random thoughts on signs
If you put up too many signs, chances are that NONE will get read. Concentrate on only absolutely necessary signs, make them nice looking (almost anyone can take 15 min. and make a good-looking, readable sign using a word processor), and keep them positive (even if it does take a few more words).
Also, if you keep getting asked the same question—will the library be open on Christmas? where are the restrooms? can I get income tax forms here?—then make a sign to answer the question!
Don’t put up signs that you want read in the first 20 or so feet from the entrance doors. This is called "the landing strip" and is where people make the transition from outside to inside. They are NOT looking at signs.
The size of a sign depends on the distance from which it is to be read. If the information/reference desk is at the back of the library, there should be an overhead sign with INFORMATION (or such) in large letters hung from the ceiling so it can be seen from the entrance. Circulation, which is probably right by the entrance, needs only a small (4" letters?) on the desk. Signs for the restrooms should be visible from anywhere in the library!
Finally, signs for services or programs should be distinct from directional or policy signs. Put them in different places (easels work wonderfully) and make the look professional (neat, NO typos, graphics); use a different color paper). And keep them current. Nothing says "staff doesn’t care" like an "ad" for a program that was 2 weeks ago.
Hope these are of some use.
Examples of Good v. Bad?
While I agree in general about bad signage (I think most patrons just ignore the signs), it would have been helpful to include some examples of effective signage as compared to bad signage.
This article sort of hits home with me . . .
It seems a bit ominous that I came upon this article today, because just the other day, I put up a few signs in my library about cell phone usage. The sign says “No Cell Phone Use in Library,” and underneath that text is a picture of Uncle Sam with the words “I Want You To Turn Off Your Cell Phone” underneath it. I created that sign because we’ve had students using cell phones in the library lately even though they aren’t supposed to, and I found that Uncle Sam picture online and thought it was amusing. I really don’t want to make anyone feel unwelcome.
Perhaps this neophyte librarian needs to work on his people skills.
References please
When making declarative statements or statements of opinion (eg ¶2S1,¶3S1,¶3S2, ¶4S1, ¶4S2, ¶5S1, ¶5S2, ¶5S4, ¶ 5S5, ¶5S6, ¶6S3, ¶7S1, ¶7S3, ¶7S4, ¶8), always use a reference. (APA, 2009, p. 169-179) Prefereably from a peer reviewed work.
American Psychological Association (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 6th ed. Chicago: American Psychological Association. p169-179.
users want information and they don't care about "tone"
I must respectfully disagree.
You repeatedly talk about "insulting" signage. Is a sign that says "No Parking" too harsh? Too authoratative?
We (and, of course, our users) live in a world of signs. By the time a user has entered the library, he or she has encountered dozens of no-nonsense, communicative signs and felt insulted by none of them. People appreciate efficiency. They want to know what is and is not allowed so that they may comply. I find this whole idea that users are shrinking violets threatened and insulted by simple signage false. I agree that trying to convey "frustration in signage is not worth it," but is this really a common problem? Where are all these angry, passive-aggressive librarians? Wherever that is, there are probably deeper institutional problems afoot.
Users do not care if a sign is creative or welcoming. They do care if they have to read unnecessary words, whether or not those words communicate pleasantness. They don’t want to be coddled, they just want information. There are rules everywhere, and there are signs everywhere to inform us of the rules. When libraries take a different approach, they abandon accepted common social convention.
Our users already value the library for the tangible benefits it offers. There is no need to lure them in with transparent saccharine plesantries. The idea that "people will think twice about patronizing" a library with "insulting" signage is outrageous. People regularly navigate environments full of obnoxious, cloying commercial signage—products cozying up to us to relieve us of our money. Where libraries adopt an overfamiliar and sycophantic tone, they risk becoming targets of the same suspicion and contempt with which most people endure advertising.
What IS insulting is the implication that most librarians cannot produce clear, unemotional, effective signage.
The adage about staying silent when you have "nothing nice to say" is a Victorian relic and truly practiced nowhere. Nothing could be more frustrating to users than a complete dearth of easily accessed information from the information professionals they trust.
Signage?
I think you make a great point Mark- over thinking library signage and cluttering up important messages with too many words is a problem in libraries (and other institutions and businesses). However, I do think Leah’s argument that signs like this one Michael Stephens posted on his blog today are quite prevalent in libraries across the country and don’t help to welcome our patrons/customers into our buildings in the way they should. When a person entering a library sees multiple signs with a decidedly unfriendly tone, often poorly formatted, they are instantly turned off and, and Leah said, much less likely to view the library as an ally in their information search.
It’s often a hard sell, but clear, well-designed, visually appealing signs that convey messages succinctly and in a friendly tone can do wonders to improve service to patrons, and send the message that the library and its staff are there to help- not admonish and police behavior.
As to your skepticism, a friend and I experienced this very phenomenon the other day while shopping. A beautiful new store downtown caught our eye while we were drinking coffee and chatting, and we veered off our intended route to have a closer look and do a bit of shopping inside. At the front door, we were greeted with a sign that said: NO FOOD OR DRINK, NO CELL PHONES, NO PHOTOGRAPHY, NO PETS. Even though we really wanted to go in, and might even have set our coffee drinks aside to check it out, the list of NOs posted on the front door were so unfriendly and so off-putting that we stopped in our tracks and turned around. I’ve since walked by that shop many times, and have yet to go in, despite the fact that I know they have wonderful things that I would be very likely to purchase inside- all because of that sign.
Thank you Leah for the great article, and Mark for the thoughtful rebuttal. This is a great topic of debate for libraries in general!
Lindsay
signage
Thank you, Leah. I agree with you completely about signage. I appreciate your calling out the underlying issues that lead to poor and insulting signage in libraries. I would only add that a well designed space "tells" the patron a great deal and can eliminate the need for some signage.
Josie Parker, Ann Arbor District Library
This article brings up a
This article brings up a prevalent problem. While librarians and library staff may not be trained as graphic designers, each time a sign is made and posted within the library an explicit and implicit public message is sent. The visual elements of design are the implicit language that we pick up on and respond to on an emotional level. We’ve all seen signs using a combination of the following: the color red for angry text, very large bold font size, ALL CAPS or excessive underlining for emphasis. The underlying message is that the signmaker is not educated in the power of visual communication. This in turn reflects back on the institution that allows this level of signage to convey its rules and policies. One solution is to educate staff about visual communication-arrange to bring in a professional graphic designer for a staff training workshop. Another suggestion is to form a working group which prepares signage guidelines, examples and templates for staff to use.
Like it or not, signage does set a tone. It can be direct, clear and respectful while conveying what needs to be said.
Keep it Simple!
I am amazed that this simple subject has touched off so much conversation. Our aim in this academic library is to (a) keep the sign simple and (b) try to use positive language whenever possible. Instead of "No this" and "Don’t that" or "The Library is closed…", we try to word it in a way similar to an actual face-to-face conversation. For example, "Please finish your drink before entering the library" or "The Library will be open on Saturday" or "Please ensure your cell phone ringers are on silent mode". It makes the person feel like they are being encouraged to have good responsible behaviors, not punished for even being here.
The signs themselves don’t need a lot of fancy fonts and graphics - they just clutter up the eye and make it more difficult to read. The average user reads a sign while they are walking past it. No one but me actually stops in front of the sign first !
Simple?
Your examples are the antithesis of your Title. Eight words to say "No Drinks". Ten words to say, "Silence Cell Phones". And , presumably the positive way to say, "Closed Today", is to say "The Library is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, except on NewYear’s Day, Martin Luther King Day…".
Reality Check
It’s easy to judge unless you have been in the position where you had to resort to putting up a homemade sign. The reality is that many libraries around the U.S. have more patrons and fewer staff members. I often spend my entire eight hour day on a public service desk. When a printer breaks I am going to slap an "Out of Order" sign on it. There are also signs up in the computer area that say no food or drink. These may be pointless because we don’t have enough staff to supervise that room and the patrons eat and drink anyway. I’m all for professionally designed and friendly signage. Right now, however, I would really like another staff person to give me a break from the desk. Then I wouldn’t have to put up the "Back in 5 Minutes" sign so I can go to the restroom!