Creating unified signage for Station205

Part of our vision for Station205 as a single destination is unifying the site both visually and functionally. For our tenants and visitors, clear and effective signage is fundamental in navigating the site.

‘Andrew described his vision for the site,’ says Jarrad Caine, senior wayfinding designer at Jasmax, ‘which was to turn separate buildings – built organically over the years – into an industrial business park with a site-wide identity. A new design and communication system would provide easier and safer navigation and unify the site.’

Jasmax reviewed the site’s current state and the master plan for its future. From there, they developed a wayfinding system with a clear hierarchy of information, identifying key moments in the user journey from entry gates through to buildings. A simple coding system allows for sequencing and flexibility if tenants change.

Wayfinding strategy

‘The idea is that Station205 is one destination,’ says Jarrad, ‘and we have to address each of the user types. These include staff, visitors, pickups and deliveries, who need to be guided to the right location quickly and safely.’

So how will they locate the correct gate, then the correct business and building, to get to their destination in the easiest way possible?

Road signs on Station Road and Rockfield Road are the first step

Though the site has six entry and exit points, the majority of users will gain access through Gate A on Station Road and Gate D on Rockfield Road.

The businesses accessible by those gates are identified at the point of entry. The main entry signs are blue metal pylons standing at 5.2m, with bold white lettering. The size and design of the pylons allow for maximum flexibility in displaying tenant brands. ’By strongly identifying entrances, it gives the site street presence and identifies the whole site as a destination, rather than a single building,’ says Jarrad.

Using hierarchies as a guide

When looking at naming conventions, Jasmax proposed an alpha-numeric coding system for the buildings, with a hierarchy of sign sizes depending on their location.

‘Alpha-numeric coding is future proofing – when a tenant moves you just swap the business name, but the building number stays the same. The system lives beyond the tenant, so there is a low cost of change when tenants roll over.’

The bold, sans-serif building numbers are prominently displayed in white against blue, matching the entry signage. Tenant brand signage is located next to the building number for easy identification and location.

Subsidiary signage – one-way signs, regulatory information, bathrooms, etc. – all conform to the same design principles, contributing to the vision of Station205 as a unified destination.

As part of the wayfinding strategy Jasmax proposed a number of recommendations to improve traffic flow, such as creating clear road markings, demarcating truck lanes versus parking, and separating truck movements from vehicle and pedestrian movements.

All these elements make the site easy to navigate, with the strong wayfinding blue creating an eye-catching accent against the site-wide charcoal-grey Colorsteel cladding.