Hull City Council wanted a new sign system to coincide with the opening of their flagship new attraction, the Deep. Visitors needed to be able to navigate from anywhere across the City, to the Deep and many other destinations.

Initially 2B Landscape Consultancy was asked by the Council to provide tender documents as a basis for bespoke sign system designers to tender against.  However, given the tight timescale for implementation, 2B put it to Hull that it would be faster and more cost-effective to consider an off-the-shelf design and customise it to Hull’s requirements.

2B was subsequently commissioned to review available pedestrian sign systems in line with Hull’s brief.  In particular, the system needed to  be consistent with the Hull Brand, to use strong “elemental” materials and to project a modern rather than heritage feel.  Having reviewed 25 manufacturers’ systems, it was decided that the Woodhouse GEO range was most appropriate design, and that the cost was competitive considering the quality of the product.

2B coordinated technical details with Woodhouse and produced design details in line with Hull’s branding, using the Hull font and colour range. Hull City Council and CityImage worked with 2B to ensure that the design met its brief.

The brand colours were used to define the categories of destination, a design idea which was later adopted for the City Centre Maps and Tourist Guide >

The proposed list of destinations and likely sign locations was reviewed and categorised, using three linked databases for destinations, sign positions and fingers.  This allowed us to look at the sign routing “from both ends”, so to speak. The technique proved to be an important tool for checking key destinations like the Deep.

Detailed site layouts were provided to guide both the manufacturer and installation contractor.

The network currently comprises 71 signs pointing to some 97 destinations

The end result of this process is that Hull has a modern, adaptable sign system in keeping with its brand and its aspirations to be a pioneering, top ten city
 

The signs have gone on to become a visual icon for Hull, as demonstrated by these extracts from the City Council website...
 

... the City Centre website,   

...and the Hull City Centre Tourist Map

2B Landscape Consultancy is very proud to have worked alongside Hull City Council, the City Centre Manager and CityImage, to produce a sign system which befits this aspiring city.