The Usher Building was conceived as a world-class hub for data-driven healthcare research, bringing together academics, industry partners and the public within a single, highly complex environment. Our role focused on developing a wayfinding and environmental graphics strategy that would support intuitive movement, reduce cognitive load and create a calm, legible user experience across the building.

Alongside the rollout of the University of Edinburgh’s standard signage package, we developed a series of bespoke feature signage and environmental graphic interventions that responded directly to the architectural concept and the building’s wider ambition around health, wellbeing and human-centred research. These elements helped establish a more distinctive identity within the University estate while reinforcing a sense of clarity, reassurance and place for users navigating the environment.

Working closely with the architectural intent, the wayfinding strategy was carefully integrated into the spatial experience of the building, supporting clear orientation, intuitive circulation and seamless transitions between public, collaborative and focused research spaces. The signage hierarchy was designed to feel accessible and welcoming to a broad user group, balancing the needs of researchers, visitors, clinicians and industry partners within a technically advanced environment.

The result is a cohesive wayfinding and environmental graphics scheme that complements the building’s architecture while enhancing everyday usability and user wellbeing. The Usher Building demonstrates how thoughtful, experience-led wayfinding can contribute to the success of complex environments by helping people move confidently, comfortably and intuitively through space from day one.