2. Contents
1 Who needs tourist signage?
2 What is the current situation?
3 What should a system for tourist signage be?
4 What does the Tourist Signage System comprise?
5 Typography and colour
6 Signs for street names and building numbers
7 Tourist site pictograms
8 Signs to tourist sites
9 City map
10 Information signposts
11 Road signs for tourists arriving by car or bus
12 Summary
13 Project authors
2 3
3. Who needs tourist signage? What is the current situation?
Individual domestic tourists They arrive in the city by train, bus, or car, often in small groups. Lviv may be Until recently, there has never been a comprehensive within a given environment, and without analysis of
their final destination, or a stop on their way elsewhere. They need a thorough signage system, either in Lviv or in Ukraine in general. his or her informational needs. The navigational media
source of information about the city. Existing signs (tourist maps, identifying or orientation that do exist in the city do not conform to requirements
signs) are installed chaotically, randomly, without of legibility, accessibility, or reliability; they are not
reference to any kind of strategy for orientating a person informative or aesthetically pleasing.
Individual foreign tourists This group requires a great deal of information about everything to do with
staying in the city: hotels, dining, tourist attractions, getting around the city.
As a rule, they do not speak Ukrainian and find it difficult communicating with
the local population and making their way through the city.
Organized domestic groups They are interested in swift and thorough visits to tourist attractions. They
need information about the location of tourist sites and service spots and
how to get to them as quickly as possible. They also prefer to plan their
routes independently.
Organized foreign tourist groups These groups require more in-depth information about tourist sites, services,
shops, etc.
Permanent and temporary They need in-depth and easily accessible information about sites and events
inhabitants of Lviv in the city.
Graphic design and typeface selections Modern plastic signs that are il- Tourist maps of the city are mostly
are unprofessional and incompatible luminated are not reliable, as some illegible because of an overload
with the environment, with which they of them become damaged almost of cluttered and often outdated
relate. Written texts are not translated immediately after installation. information.
and not transliterated.
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4. What should a system for tourist signage be?
Understandable Compatible Sustainable
Transliterated texts Legible Friendly to the urban Compatible with world signage Long-lasting Cost-effective
environment standards
According to statistical research con- Signs should be easily and quickly The rich and varied architectural All elements of the tourist signage Elements of the Tourist Signage Signs should be inexpensive to
ducted by the Tourism Information legible to drivers, cyclists, people environment of Lviv is its most pre- system, in particular pictogram sys- System should be weather resistant, produce in small quantities.
Centre, the proportion of domestic with sight impairment, people in cious and important asset, attract- tems, colour schemes, translation and especially in conditions of fluctuations
tourists to foreign tourists is 60 to wheelchairs, in cloudy weather, at ing tourists from all over the world transliteration into foreign languages in temperature or high humidity; they
30 percent. The biggest problem dusk, and during dark periods of to the city. This is precisely why a should relate to world standards for should be easy to clean and maintain,
faced by foreign visitors to Lviv is the day. system for tourist signage should signage to enable foreign tourists to and be sturdy and resistant to acts of
their inability to read the Cyrillic not dominate nor be dissonant with easily understand them. vandalism.
alphabet. It is, therefore, imperative it. All of the elements of a tourist
that a system of transliteration be signage system should, on the one
introduced into the development of hand, be friendly to the environment,
signage for tourists in the city. but on the other, able to compete
with other signs and advertisements
that are situated on building facades
and themselves interfere with the
historical environment.
Wayfinding signs should first and foremost be functional
elements of the city environment and they should relay
precisely the information a person needs at precisely the
moment a person needs it
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5. What does the Tourist Signage System comprise?
Street nameplates and numbers Pictograms of tourist objects Pedestrian signposts
decision point
Orientational signs Directional signs Identification signs
Maps and plans located at cross- They are placed at a distance from They are placed at sites and let a
roads. They help a person find the sites, as a rule, at decision-making person know that they have reached
way and plan a route. points. They inform an individual their destination. They inform about
about directions, and provide an what the site is. These are street
opportunity for independent choice. signs and signs near the entrance to
They contain arrows, site names, a building.
and pictograms. City maps Information pylons Road signs for car tourists
8 9
6. Typography and colours
As the street plate should fit in with architectural and later times there were a lot of advertising on We have developed the figures for modern plates
environment of Lviv city, therefore, the typeface buildings, and based on those typefaces there was based on beautiful figures designed before the
used should consider the typefaces of the end created modern legible typeface to be used in the 2 World War, which some of them have been
of XIX — beginning of XX century. During that city wayfinding system. preserved on building plates.
In order to succeed maximum legibility it is
important to achieve the contrast between the
background and the typeface. However, the streets
of Lviv city are overloaded with bright advertising;
the street plates should not be dissonant, but to
the contrary, fit into environment. It was decided
to use as background colour the dominating
environment colour (intense dark brown), that at
the same time correspond with European norms
for tourist signage.
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7. Street plates with names and numbers
The typeface remains Latin letters designed in the White typeface on dark background City coat of arms has
legible in the twilights way that transliteration is remains legible even in twilights. been modified for better
and readable for people legible despite of smaller Enamel covering is strong and long- recognition from the distance
with poor sight font size lasting
12 13
8. Pictograms of tourist objects
As most of tourist attraction objects in Lviv have unique Pictograms of public transport and objects
and recognizable silhouettes, there has been developed of service
the whole system of pictograms for their atching. It helps
tourists a lot in their wayfinding in the city. The object
placed in the pictogram was simplified to maximum, but
remains recognizable. Pictograms are well perceived
in all system elements — informational signposts, city
maps, etc. The object depicted in pictogram can be suc-
cessfully identified even when the pictogram is dimin-
ished by 8 mm in diameter.
14 15
9. Signposts
Signpost’s look is based on the same composition
principles as street plates. Despite the sign’s fixed
size, both Ukrainian and English typeface, the object
pictogram and destination arrow can be placed on it.
The signposts are not dissonant to architec-
The pillar consists of the base, decorative links, the tural environment due to colour and con-
top and frames to which the fingerpost’s plate is
structive solution, but at the same time they
fixed. One pillar may carry up to 12 signposts
if necessary. remain visible and the typefaces are accu-
rate and legible
16 17
10. Музей історії релігії
Museum of Religion
Галерея «Дзига» 4 4 7
City map
History
Dzyga Gallery 5
Музей історії релігії Аптека-музей Королівський
ерея «Дзига» architectural monuments are situated
Most of Museum of Religion
principles for placing objects «Дзига» interest has
Галерея of tourist 4 7 Pharmacy Museum арсенал Пор
4
a Gallery in the small central part of the city. There are History
been developed. For tourist wayfinding system a
Dzyga Gallery 5 Royal Arsenal
Gunp
also many museums, theatres and other tourist special map with following features was designed: 2
й історії релігії which makes it difficult to place all of
attractions, Музей історії релігії 4 Церква пресв. Євхаристії
Аптека-музей Королівський
m of Religion on the map. A detailed background and basic
them
4 7 Порохова
Музей скла вежа (Домініканський костел)
y Pharmacy Museum
45
Museum of Religion
History арсенал 4 7 St. Eucharist Church (Dominican Church)
universal scalable legible Royal Arsenal 5 2 Glass Museum
Gunpowder Tower
2 4 7
any general or more specific can be reproduced at different
Церква пресв. Євхаристії
the map remains understandable Музей пошти 5
КоролівськийАптека-музей
information can be placed on it; 4
scales, from large information in big and small scales.
Королівський museum 2
арсенал
Музей скла
Порохова вежа
(Домініканський костел)
pylons to the small tourist guides;
Post office
Порохова вежа
Pharmacy Museum Gunpowder Tower
St. Eucharist Church (Dominican Church)
арсенал 9
2 Glass Museum
Royal Arsenal
Royal Arsenal Історичний Gunpowder Tower
рква пресв.textsМузей the map
All Євхаристії пошти 2
on have been transliterated 4 7 музей Успенська церква
4 Церква пресв. Євхаристії
5
омініканський костел)
Post office museum 2 Historical Museum Assumption Church
or translated into Englishскла
Eucharist Church (Dominican Church)
Музей
9
(Домініканський костел)
St. Eucharist Church (Dominican Church) 2
Історичний2 4 7
Glass Museum
Музей меблів 9 1
музей Музей пошти
5 Успенська церква 4 7
та порцеляни 3 2
Graphic and colour map solution helps quickly identify necessary group of objects:
2 5
Historical Museum
Post office museum Assumption Church 2
Museum of Furniture
9
2 9 and China
10
Комунальна перша
Музей Історичний
16 міська поліклініка
Успенська церква меблів 9 1
Успенська церква 12
музей
Assumption Church порцеляни
та 3 2 First aid station
Historical Museum Assumption Church
Museum of Furniture
2 1
9
and China
1 10 Комунальна перша 2
Key points of tourist interest 2 16
Museums, theatres andмеблів міська поліклініка
Public transport network, emergency
9 1 11
3 Музей other tourist
12 and public services station 2
attractions
та порцеляни 3 First aid
Museum of Furniture 3 Музей зброї
Комунальна перша 1
16 and also pavement, поліклінікаcrossings, steps, street names, building numbers, parks, Комунальна перша
and China
pedestrian Armoury Museum
міська 10 16 Синагога
directions to theaid stationstation and bus station, and international highways numbers. міська поліклініка
11
First railway 12 35 «Золота Роза»
First aid station
3 Музей зброї Golden Rose Synagogue
50
18 1 19
Armoury Museum 9 11
11 Синагога 8 49
35 «Золота Роза» 30 3 3
11. Information pylons пл. генерала Григоренка
pl. henerala Hryhorenka
Road signs for car tourists
Собор св. Юра
St. George Cathedral
Залізничний вокзал
Central Railway station
Львівська політехніка
Lviv Polytechnic University
Органний зал
Organ Hall
Львівський університет
Lviv University
For tourists who travel by car, a series of road signs to
the objects of tourist interest has been developed. Tak-
ing into account the fact that most of these objects are
situated in the central part of the city, there is no need
to display all of them on the signs. To show the direction
to the city centre would be enough. Apart from the city
centre, the road signs show the car tourists the way to
Most tourist attractions are concenrated in the small St. George’s Cathedral, Lychakiv cemetery and Folk Ar-
central part of the city. In order to provide more chitectre Museum. Road signs have been developed ac-
information on the objects special two-sided pylons cording to the «Road Signs» State Standard 4100–2002.
with the indication of location and directions to key However there is also a place for few innovations, in
destinations have been developed. particular a brown background and text with pictograms.
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