Seoul City Renovates Signage at Donuimun Museum Village

Development and Application of Signage Design Suitable for Building Characteristics and Functions Completed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 2nd that it has installed guide signs reflecting the unique characteristics of each building in ‘Donuimun Museum Village’ to provide visitors with an enjoyable wayfinding experience.

Donuimun Museum Village is a village-scale cultural facility where 100 years of Seoul’s modern and contemporary history and culture come alive, featuring everything from hanok (traditional Korean houses) to nostalgic alleyways and modern buildings. Through the “Fun Seoul Public Space Creation” project, guide signs were installed that highlight the individuality of buildings containing diverse histories and stories.

The “Fun Seoul Public Space Creation” project, which began in 2018, infuses public spaces with fun designs to bring joy to citizens’ daily lives and vitality to the city center. It has designed the Seoul City Tour Bus stops and ticket booths at ‘Gwanghwamun Station’ and ‘Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) ticket booth.’ In 2019, it installed structures using light and vibrant colors to create an emotional space where visitors could feel the passion of the 100th National Sports Festival through light.

The newly developed and installed Donuimun Museum guide signs consist of a total of 39 signs: 5 village wayfinding signs, 18 building signs, 13 information guide signs, and 3 explanatory signs. Unlike signs that only indicate direction and distance, the ‘village wayfinding signs’ use a narrative storytelling method, allowing visitors to feel as if local residents are answering their questions, adding a subtle charm.

The ‘building signs’ were designed without strict rules, aiming to showcase the traces of time according to the building’s characteristics, construction period, and usage. This approach preserves the unique atmosphere of the alleys while sharing the city’s memories embedded in the buildings.

The ‘information guide signs’ are designed for easy information replacement, enabling quick updates to provide visitors with diverse information about the village’s programs. For the citizen and artist galleries and Saemunan Theater located in narrow alleys, explanatory signs were not separately installed to avoid obstructing pedestrian traffic; instead, ‘explanatory signs’ were attached to the glass doors.

The new guide signs, created by reflecting the characteristics of each building and space, go beyond simple wayfinding and directional signs to provide synesthetic guidance including the surrounding scenery, atmosphere, and colors of the village. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy the fun of finding their way through Donuimun Museum Village’s alleys by following the signs.

Lee Hye-young, Director of Seoul City’s Design Policy Division, said, “This guide sign design will lead visitors not only in wayfinding but also to nostalgic memories of the old neighborhood.” She added, “We will continue to create creative public spaces that bring joy to citizens through the Fun Seoul Public Space Creation project and develop new design landmarks.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.