The first thing students and visitors commonly see upon entering most college and university campuses is wayfinding signage – so it’s essential to leave a good impression. For signage to be effective, the signage should assist those traveling and integrate with the campus architecture. After recognizing the need for improved wayfinding signage, Eastern Michigan University Operations and Facilities Department consulted PEA Group to develop a unified signage manual for the entire campus.
Our team collaborated with the University to develop a new design standard that incorporated pre-existing University standards, while also addressing issues dealing with sign content, clarity, construction durability, and location. Our team addressed the following sign types:
- Wayfinding
- Parking Lot Identification Signage
- Traffic and Parking Legally Enforcement Signage
- Specific Designated Parking Area Signage Within the Parking Lots Electronic Signage
- Campus Maps
- Bicycle Signage
- Building Signage
PEA Group met with the design team, which included campus and LAZ Parking representatives, to present, discuss, and finalize all preliminary design options. After the design review phase, our team provided the University a design guideline booklet that included a design directive for all future sign replacements or proposed signage projects. The purpose of the signage guidelines is to provide consistent, coherent, and comprehensive guidelines for all types of campus signage. The guidelines address primarily exterior signage in parking lots, building frontages, roadways, walkways, and bike-ways.
In Fall 2019, the University moved the designs forward and began installing the parking lot identification signage. To date, approximately 60 parking lots across campus have been updated to reflect the new signage standards.