Mall Information Design

Stating that I am not a fan of the Mall is an understatement. None the less, I made my way there to do the Christmas shopping. Due to the snow fall I was unable to take a decent picture of the main entrance. I have borrowed the following picture from the website.

The first aspect of the mall design is the contrast of colors displayed by each venue. The average  shopper may not take note of this characteristic. The presence of a well thought out information design piece might go unnoticed. However, imagine the impact if this main entrance was painted with a universal solid color. These clean and organized mall entrances would suddenly be a massive cluster of confusing doors.The color contrast gives the shopper a clear understanding for where each entrance is and what venue they will encounter when they walk through the door. This effective design allows for easy identification. This information design also has an impact on the activity in the parking lot. Vehicles can head to their parking spot immediately after locating their entrance of choice. If store identification was difficult, vehicles would likely linger longer as the driver tries to determine the correct entrance. Not only do the stores display excellent use of contrasting color, each store has a unique look and feel to them. The Bar Louie provides a simple large sign. It is no more than white on black with a large image of a glass. The sign by its self is nothing special. However, when considering the surrounding this simple sign becomes very  effective. The brick behind the sign provides an excellent backdrop for the shadow of the sun. It fits perfect with the bars black and white theme that can be seen throughout the sitting area. Each item by itself does not stick out. Everything together on the other hand provides a powerful attention grabber. Looking at this entrance from a distance tells me that the information designers did an excellent job putting all these pieces together. I do have one recommendation though for consideration. The focus point for shoppers is most defiantly in the upward direction. All the store signs are high up as are the decorative windows, awnings, exquisite roof tops. The directional arrows seem to be the only piece that is below eye level. These arrows are painted on the road itself. I imagine a number of people make the mistake of turning the wrong way. I know I made that mistake just the other day when I visited. The arrows were covered in snow and I was not looking down anyways.  These directional signs should be relocated and redesigned. Perhaps a sign at eye level would be more effective.