Library Signage and Wayfinding Design: Communicating Effectively with Your Users

Take a more user-centered approach to crafting library signage with this handy guide. Well-designed signage is clear, direct, and reduces confusion and frustration among library users and library workers alike—and also complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), bolstering accessibility. Using the principles and examples laid out by Polger, you’ll learn

• how to spot the telltale features of poor design, from signage that’s wordy, passive aggressive, too small, unfriendly or threatening, to wayfinding that uses inconsistent terminology or different color schemes or typefaces;
• why taking a UX (user experience) approach can help make the library a welcoming space;
• core UX criteria for effective wayfinding design, such as the specific design zones of a sign, appropriate typefaces, color schemata, text to image ratio, text and image sizes, contrast, and viewing distance;
• about important considerations like placement and touchpoints;
• best practices for using ADA compliance guidelines when performing a library signage audit;
• special approaches for digital signage; and
• techniques that signage designers can use when studying library users to better understand their perceptions, feelings, and attitudes regarding signage and wayfinding.

MarkAaron Polger, PhD (they/them) is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Library Outreach at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York (CUNY). Their responsibilities include promoting library services to targeted groups on campus, working with admissions and recruitment with library tours, new student orientation, and liaising with high schools and public library branches in the community.  Polger's research interests include library marketing, outreach, and user experience design. They have written and presented on topics such as library marketing strategies, faculty outreach, Information Literacy outreach, library jargon, and library signage. In early 2019, Polger authored the book Library Marketing Basics, a beginner's guide to marketing libraries (Rowman and Littlefield Publishers). Polger holds a BA in Sociology from Concordia University, an MA in Sociology from the University of Waterloo, a B.Ed. in adult education from Brock University, and an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario. In 2025, they completed their PhD in Curriculum, Instruction, and the Science of Learning.