In Praise Of: Museum Maps

There’s something wonderful about a really good museum map.

In my studio, we’ve designed quite a few of them, partly because we also design signage and wayfinding systems. We’re fans. We’ve developed an appreciation for what makes a map work.

Clarity, for starters. Restrooms, elevators, accessible routes, and major attractions should jump off the page. Names and symbols should match the signs visitors encounter.

And there should really be only one map. The printed handout, website, digital kiosk, and wall directory should all spring from the same master.

That master has to be easy to change. Galleries close, seasonal attractions come and go. Updating the map shouldn’t mean redesigning it, or leaving outdated versions scattered around the museum.

Then there’s the fun part. Put a little image of the Ruby Slippers (or baby panda, or Millennium Falcon) on the map. Suddenly visitors aren’t just finding their way. They’re spotting things they want to see.

And the path to a favorite attraction can lead past several others.

Here’s the thing:

A great museum map is wayfinding, information management, and promotion, all rolled into one.

Not bad for a map.

Warmly,
Jonathan

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MtM Word of the Day:
Accession. The formal process of a museum acquiring and documenting an item that is added to its permanent collection. Once it is added, and all the data about it is filed away, the only way it should leave is through “deaccession,” which is also a formal process.