Akshardham Signage

One fifth of this country visits our heritage sites after traveling great distances with limited means. The signage at these sites, which is meant to play the role of a guide, is not only terrible, but defiles and debases this inestimable heritage as well as it’s visitors. Message and medium, both are ignored and an opportunity for interpretation through signage lost. We realised that visual communication is about the message and choosing a medium that will enhance its impact.

The project for the Akshardham monument in Delhi started as a Diploma Project in Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology. Akshardham is to serve as a platform for other heritage sites and aims to showthrough actual samples and prototypes that signage which guides, informs, entertains, pays respect to our heritage sites and is durable at the same time, is possible for an indian context. What was important was the client’s willingness to contribute generously towards using a wide range of sign making techniques on a host of durable materials, so that the Akshardham site could serve as an example for other heritage sites.

More than 50 sign samples, a designer-friendly Sign Manual with 30 materials, 14 signage techniques and 25 fact-sheets round off the project, all the while laying emphasis on durability, with signs that are scratch-proof, vandal-proof and weather proof.