Best way to target all ages with signage
- Thread starter tigris115
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cerperal
Well-Known Member
Weirdly enough every time I visit Berlin I have the same thought about the signage appealing to all ages.
There's the main sign with more specific, scientific information - scientific name, size, etc. But then there's also a sign fitted below these ones, certainly more child-height, with more informal wording answering questions children might have complete with cartoons of the animals. It's an approach I wouldn't mind to see in more zoos
There's the main sign with more specific, scientific information - scientific name, size, etc. But then there's also a sign fitted below these ones, certainly more child-height, with more informal wording answering questions children might have complete with cartoons of the animals. It's an approach I wouldn't mind to see in more zoos
One of the problems is that people already need to be engaged to a certain extent to read a sign. Signs can also only display a very limited amount of information, so the people that benefit most from them will be those who are interested but know very little about the species.
The challenge is how to engage those who aren't interested. Maybe for children you could have some form of game or activity which means they need to look at the signs. With limited space available maybe quirky "did you know" type facts might grab people.
I wonder if two levels of sign might work. The typical sign for those who just want to know what an animal is and a more detailed one for people who are interested in learning more.
The challenge is how to engage those who aren't interested. Maybe for children you could have some form of game or activity which means they need to look at the signs. With limited space available maybe quirky "did you know" type facts might grab people.
I wonder if two levels of sign might work. The typical sign for those who just want to know what an animal is and a more detailed one for people who are interested in learning more.
cerperal
Well-Known Member
That's a very good point, as all too often a lot of people will just breeze past exhibits without reading any signage - I think this is where a lot of the replies in the misidentified animals thread come from. Especially if someone isn't particularly interested in animals, it's hard to grab their attention long enough to read a species name let alone any further information, and in the case of families it means children who otherwise would want to read don't get the chance.
For more social/family-based animals, an approach I like is the listing of the names, relations and ages of each animal. Zoos often do this with elephants, great apes and big cats. Whipsnade, Berlin, Leipzig and Prague do this very well as all include this information for their elephants and apes as well as more informal, personal information - be it their favourite food, best friend or identifying feature.
Leipzig also has a very interesting approach for the walk-through species in Gondwanaland, with laminated books with each species dotted around the exhibit. Fundamentally it's no different to putting signs on a wall but from a purely anecdotal standpoint I found a lot of people of all ages spend time flicking through and trying to spot all the animals listed.
And on the subject of walk-through - in the 'Meet the Neighbours' aviary in London Zoo, there are signs hand-written in chalk asking visitors if they can see the birds as well as the number present. Once again, I find a lot of people pause to look and then end up reading the more informative signage.
Turns out I have a lot of thoughts on zoo signage. Who'd have thought.
Strathmorezoo
Well-Known Member
I've always liked the blackboard/notice board, usually placed near the entrance and or restaurant with daily news,ie births deaths animal movement etc. These always seemed very popular. Unfortunately, this way of letting people know of such news isn't as popular as it once was. Scientific information signs, for children or adults are only of interest to people who are genuinely interested and has always seemed to be the case.
Madadad
Well-Known Member
To appeal to all audiences, it might be better to have big bold simple words like the species name (or even a nickname), complimented by the smaller facts. Definitely need someone who knows good graphic design. (I swear I saw a sign in the Media tab that was using comic sans and emoji jpgs with its animal signs.)
There are two things I'd add
1. The scientific name as that's rly important in zoology. Also so that anyone of any language can see what it is as scientific names are universal
2. A QR code that takes you to either translations or animal updates for that species
That last bit is more important for zoos that are really big international destinations like the Bronx where you get people who speak/read a ton of different languages
It is good to really think what the zoo wants to teach? Many random trivia information about animals are not really that important.
Show, not tell is the key. Good signs have painted things they want to convey. Be it a woman fur coat made from 6 snow leopard skins, or a cross-section of the brush turkey nesting mound with heat waves coming from the rotting vegetation and the sun.
Berlin zoo for years had animal signs with rather high quality oil paintings. They always drew attention to the plates. I think one of the zoo staff was a hobby painter. Also, this created the image of the zoo as a cultural institution, not a cheap kids attraction. In contrast, these huge photo plates seem to be ignored by visitors, who are over-familiar with animal posters.
My minor surprise is why signs are not actually put inside exhibits? This is where visitors actually look. Some zoos have names of individual elephants or rhinos on the stalls, but little else. Second surprise is why there is no information near sitting banks, children playground or in the restaurant? This is where visitors spend most of the time and have free attention to read.
Multi-language plates, often in 4 languages, are common in European zoos.
Aquatis Lausanne had interesting signs about Sahel wildlife. The zoo is near France, and France has a large Arabian / North African community. Many people seemed interested in animals in connection to their home country.
Show, not tell is the key. Good signs have painted things they want to convey. Be it a woman fur coat made from 6 snow leopard skins, or a cross-section of the brush turkey nesting mound with heat waves coming from the rotting vegetation and the sun.
Berlin zoo for years had animal signs with rather high quality oil paintings. They always drew attention to the plates. I think one of the zoo staff was a hobby painter. Also, this created the image of the zoo as a cultural institution, not a cheap kids attraction. In contrast, these huge photo plates seem to be ignored by visitors, who are over-familiar with animal posters.
My minor surprise is why signs are not actually put inside exhibits? This is where visitors actually look. Some zoos have names of individual elephants or rhinos on the stalls, but little else. Second surprise is why there is no information near sitting banks, children playground or in the restaurant? This is where visitors spend most of the time and have free attention to read.
Multi-language plates, often in 4 languages, are common in European zoos.
Aquatis Lausanne had interesting signs about Sahel wildlife. The zoo is near France, and France has a large Arabian / North African community. Many people seemed interested in animals in connection to their home country.
ZooNews2024
Well-Known Member
You are quite right - but the scientific information signs and information on them (such as endangered species status) are a requirement of the UK Zoo Licencing Act, so they tick this box.
Most visitors dont read them, and many do not read warning or instruction signs either, many of which are largely there for legal and/or insurance purposes.
The one consistent fact is that the more signs there are, then the less they are likely to be read - but they do of course tick the boxes.
If anyone is actually interested, presumably like most on here (who are NOT representative of the general visitor) they will actively seek out information however it is presented.
It might come as a surprise to some of those on here, but a (sizeable? - who knows) proportion of zoo visitors are not really interested in animals, and have come for a day out, the shops and playgrounds, and simply somewhere to take the kids. They will not have the patience or interest to read signs or even look for animals which may be hiding, but will expect to see every enclosure inhabited by animals they often chose to ignore, and will complain it they dont.
ZooChatters are NOT 'normal' visitors..!
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This is because most people today have banner blindness:
Banner blindness - Wikipedia
Anybody working with zoo signs may be interested to click though topics related to this.
Well my first suggestion would be to stop thinking in terms of "signs" and start thinking in terms of "graphics". A sign is typically very simple and designed to convey information quickly- with the quintessential example being something like a red octagon with the word "STOP". A graphic can be a sign, but they are designed to be much more appealing and include more information, often telling some sort of story.
That said, graphics don't need to be strictly two-dimensional signs, and instead can be a whole lot more than that. Some examples:
Photo By: @ZooElephantMan
Even if kids aren't going to read all the information included here, they may be more interested in looking at and comparing the three skulls shown, or comparing the models of various front limbs. The information is there for those who want to read more, but it isn't a necessity in order to learn.
To go to another level, take a look at this image:
Photo By: @blospz
The Arctic's Edge Interpretive Center at Buffalo Zoo contains multiple stations where visitors can press buttons, measure their carbon footprint, and interact with the interpretive materials in a way that wouldn't be possible with a two-dimensional sign. What's more, this interpretive center is located at the end of the Arctic's Edge exhibit, so is connecting to the animals which were already seen, and isn't tacked onto the side of an exhibit where it is easy to overlook.
When it comes to interpretive materials and graphics overall, I'd definitely suggest taking more of an inspiration from science museums than zoos. While some zoos do commendable jobs, by and large I've found that science museums are more likely to have educational components which are a multi-sensory experience, further increasing their audience and the effectiveness of their messaging, compared to zoos where most graphics are simply a visual experience.
ZooNews2024
Well-Known Member
Yes - or because they are simply not interested, or assume the signs are just meant for other people and dont apply to them...
ZooNews2024
Well-Known Member
Photo By: @ZooElephantMan
To go to another level, take a look at this image:
Photo By: @blospz
The Arctic's Edge Interpretive Center at Buffalo Zoo contains multiple stations where visitors can press buttons, measure their carbon footprint, and interact with the interpretive materials in a way that wouldn't be possible with a two-dimensional sign. What's more, this interpretive center is located at the end of the Arctic's Edge exhibit, so is connecting to the animals which were already seen, and isn't tacked onto the side of an exhibit where it is easy to overlook.
When it comes to interpretive materials and graphics overall, I'd definitely suggest taking more of an inspiration from science museums than zoos. While some zoos do commendable jobs, by and large I've found that science museums are more likely to have educational components which are a multi-sensory experience, further increasing their audience and the effectiveness of their messaging, compared to zoos where most graphics are simply a visual experience.
The issue with these interactive one-to-one approaches is that they struggle to deal with high footfall. The last visit I made to the Natural History Museum in London on a cold wet day in March, showed this clearly. The Victorian design which was made to deal with large numbers of people has in many places been replaced with versions of what you describe. They were all very good, but their designers needed to leave their offices and look at the public areas on a busy day, because it was chaos to the point of being unsafe, and left me wondering what would have happened in the case of a fire or other emergency.
Wonder if making signs interactive is an answer. They do need to consider how to deal with large groups though as ZooNews2024 points out above.
Thinking about the example of them being turned into books at Leipzig. Electronic signs could be made interactive too, but it doesn't mean traditional signs can't do things to.
Simple mechanics can be built into signs. A local example to me, in Marwell's Fur, Feathers and Scales exhibit they have boards about what defines a mammal, bird reptile, etc. with wheels that can be spun to answer the question. If a wrong answer is given it shows an example of an animal that demonstrates why the chosen answer is incorrect.
One thing that is also worth mentioning is that although few people read signs initially, I have noticed that a decent number of parents will seek out a sign if their child asks a question they do not know the answer to. More than those that will just blurt out a stupid answer. Most of the ridiculous misidentifications I have heard have come from adults without young children.
Thinking about the example of them being turned into books at Leipzig. Electronic signs could be made interactive too, but it doesn't mean traditional signs can't do things to.
Simple mechanics can be built into signs. A local example to me, in Marwell's Fur, Feathers and Scales exhibit they have boards about what defines a mammal, bird reptile, etc. with wheels that can be spun to answer the question. If a wrong answer is given it shows an example of an animal that demonstrates why the chosen answer is incorrect.
One thing that is also worth mentioning is that although few people read signs initially, I have noticed that a decent number of parents will seek out a sign if their child asks a question they do not know the answer to. More than those that will just blurt out a stupid answer. Most of the ridiculous misidentifications I have heard have come from adults without young children.
I wouldn't say that's true. "Education" is a whole lot more than just signage. Yes, signage is something which is oftentimes ineffective at educating, but that doesn't mean zoos don't have very successful school programs, interpretation staff, summer zoo camp programs, outreach programs, or ambassador animal programs. All of those are part of zoo education, and in many cases a much bigger part of it.
Tapirus Lar
Well-Known Member
I think to catch attention and convey information, particularly to little kids, pictures and graphics supplemented by simple, easy to understand text, would work better than text supplemented by pictures which is usually the case