Phase One of our work entailed designing and providing a town centre sign family comprising gateway signs, monoliths and street name plaques at the key destinations and decision points across the town. Then we widened our focus in Phase Two, uncovering county-wide hidden treasures. Our work focused on developing a county-wide style to connect the smaller towns and villages, while also highlighting their differences and unique characters.

At both stages the key aim was to help visitors to explore a little further, by telling stories about each destination and giving them the confidence to venture on to the next.  

One key tactic here, informed by our research, was to identify five heritage themes and devise town trails that took the visitor on a journey by sharing unique stories at each sign. The routes picked up primary and secondary destinations, key gateways and historical points of interest.  

Trails varied in length and also interlinked, giving the user plenty of information at the outset and providing an easy way for visitors to get to know the town even better.  

The sign design itself used the robust nature of Corten with muted colours that reflected the town’s heritage. Monoliths, inner gateway signs and post-mounted signs incorporated a stylised castle profile cut out. This detail acts as a window to frame important views.