V&A East seeks wayfinding designer for £500,000 project

V&A East has launched a tender valued at £110,000 for the wayfinding and signage design for both its main museum and the V&A East Storehouse.

The distinct difference between these sites are that V&A East Storehouse is not a museum but a live working store which the public can view. The tender also covers the interpretation design for the V&A East Storehouse and must reflect the nature of the live working store experience.

The chosen design team will be tasked with mapping out visitor & staff journeys through navigation that is “imaginative, bold and effective in equal measure”, says the V&A. In line with the V&A’s wider goal – “transforming the way audiences experience collections of art and design” – the wayfinding, signage and interpretation work must resonate with a diverse and underserved audience.

An evolved approach to language will be implemented across the design work to cater to this new audience in a bid to reduce any barriers between the spaces and the visitors across both sites.

Work carried out under this brief will be principally informed by the V&A East brand identity, which will be largely defined by the time of appointment. This includes tone of voice, brand behaviours and visual identity guidelines.

The scope of this brief includes, but is not limited to directional signage, such as wall and floor signage, map or equivalent, and icons; feature signage, such as titling, gallery thresholds and external signage; donor signage, such as space naming, space and object recognition; and location signage, such as room naming and numbering.

For the interpretive design of the V&A East Storehouse, the chosen consultancy will be expected to develop a strategy alongside the V&A team and audiences and implement it across the space. Key requirements to be aware of across the whole project are maximised adaptability, sustainability, and accessibility.

V&A East welcomes applications from individuals, single creative and design practices, and collaborative bids. It is particularly interested in those that include emerging practices, east London based practices and applicants with a diverse design team. Experience in wayfinding and signage design and interpretation design is desirable.

The fee for this design work is approximately £110,000 and the budget is around £500,000, including all preliminaries, OHP’s, contingencies and inflation.

The application deadline is 24 October 2022 at 10am and appointments will be made by the end of December 2022. The contract is due to start on 9 January 2023 and run until 30 November 2024.

V&A East Storehouse will open at Here East in 2024 and V&A East Museum on the Stratford Waterfront in 2025.

Find out more and apply.