Project: Bognor Regis Wayfinding Scheme
What is Wayfinding?
Wayfinding is the use of signage, colour, and other design elements to help us navigate through and around space. We see wayfinding used everywhere, everyday – think of the classic Tube map or the coloured signs that support our use of the motorway network. Wayfaring combines these wayfinding signage elements with community based design, culture and heritage to develop a consistent visual narrative which helps give places a unique and recognisable identity. By highlighting the key sites and trails and showcasing the history and stories that make places special, good wayfaring contributes to our wellbeing. Making places easier to navigate for everyone, encouraging active travel, celebrating our culture, and, through public art and design which includes the local community, increasing our feelings of welcome, ownership and pride in place.
Why are we doing it?
Bognor Regis is a town with a lot to offer: a busy retail centre with a good mix of national names and independent shops, plenty of public parking, good public transport links which deliver people directly into the centre of town, a pedestrianised shopping area, family friendly and free to access parks and play areas and of course, the beach and promenade. It is a relatively level, compact town centre, making it fairly easy to get around, whether you’re on foot or using wheeled devices such as buggies, bikes, mobility scooters and wheelchairs. But it’s not currently very well signposted. We’ve all seen visitors trying to find their way to and from Butlins and street furniture which, although fit for purpose, doesn’t add any sense of identity or vibrancy to our town. We want Bognor Regis to be a welcoming, well-known town which supports its residents and visitors to get the most out of their time within the centre, understanding and connecting to the place they’re in and having a positive and enjoyable experience.
As a partnership organisation, the BRRB has managed to secure funding to run a community-led design process over the next few months, with the designs along the first key route – Bognor Regis Station to Butlins via London Road, the High Street and The Esplanade – expected to be installed in 2025 onwards.
How can you get involved?
We want the designs that feature in the wayfinding scheme to reflect the community of Bognor Regis – residents, visitors, students and businesses – collected through a series of design workshops. You may have seen us at the recent Taste! street food & music event at Place St Maur Des Fosses, which was organised by the Business Improvement District. We will be attending other public events over the next few months and will advertise this on our website and via social media. We will also be visiting local schools and community groups to ensure we engage across the widest spectrum possible.
In addition, we will be running a couple of ‘drop in’ sessions, out of normal working time, to ensure that as many people as possible can contribute to the design element of the scheme.
What should you expect from a workshop?
The workshops are informal and designed to be in places which offer good physical accessibility. We will provide a range of materials, including stencils of developed shapes and graphics but you can also design your own. Our experience so far has shown that there is appeal in this approach that engages a range of different ages and abilities. We just need your creativity and enthusiasm! Whether you’re a local family, a group of friends or individuals with ideas about how your town should look and feel, we will be pleased to welcome you.
Read the project summary HERE
Date of Next Design Workshop
Saturday 10th February 2024, 2-4pm drop in, ALL WELCOME, free refreshments - come along for some FREE half term fun! Kids (under 18s must be accompanied), grandparents, visitors, residents - we’d love to see you all. It will be warm, dry and free of charge….come and join us!