Bristol City Centre

Challenge
Bristol city centre was difficult to navigate and had poor public information. There was little guidance for the visitor and so the wealth of attractions and commercial opportunities the city had to offer were easily missed.

The Bristol Legible City initiative was conceived to deliver an information and wayfinding strategy that matched its ambition to be a leading cultural and commercial destination.

Insight
The city exists for many audiences, each person has a special individual origin and destination and needs a specific travel map to reach it.

The basic information system, signs, maps, icons and components needed to conform to the highest measure of visual clarity, simplicity and universal recognition.

At the heart of the project there needed to be an easy-to-understand system designed to provide a constant flow of information through the city centre, linking diverse neighbourhoods, helping people to make the most of Bristol’s many attractions, welcoming tourists and encouraging a shift towards public transport.

Solution
The first major project was the signing system for pedestrians, which is the most comprehensive system in Europe and has been designed specifically to encourage walking and to aid wayfinding in a complex city centre environment. It consists of direction signs and monolith shaped map panels to aid people's understanding and in total there are nearly 40 monolith panels and 60 direction signs, with over 700 finger signs.

We also designed a range of Maps, each of which has innovative features forming a comprehensive mapping system. Two types of map are provided – a diagramatic map of the city centre and a more detailed ‘heads-up’ map of the immediate area. The diagrammatic map shows the principal city centre neighbourhoods and the main attractions.

Creating a coordinated range of physical components was also key, thereby reinforcing the identity and image of the city. Designed by The Brewery, their intention was to create street furniture products that integrated physically with the environment.

The design ‘signature’ of the range does not draw on a literal or singular reference, but is intended to reflect Bristol’s robust character with its pioneering and engineering heritage. The aim was to create a physical presence that made information obvious and legible, when needed, but otherwise would regress so as not to dominate the cityscape.

Results
Bristol now has direction signs, information panels, city and area maps, printed walking maps, information kiosks, heritage plaques and arts projects that are bound together by a consistent visual language, naming hierarchy and unique mapping system.

Bristol Legible City is now recognised as a forward-thinking initiative that has moved beyond rhetoric to make a real difference to the experience and value of Bristol.