Designing an Experience: Maps and Signs at the Archaeological Site of Troy

Abstract

Here, I discuss ways of enhancing the visitor experience at the archaeological site of ancient Troy near Çanakkale, Turkey, by redesigning the current maps and signage. Maps and signage are essential for visitors to understand and appreciate the cultural, historical, and natural importance of a heritage site. As discussed below, many visitors are underwhelmed by Troy. This negative visitor experience can be attributed in part to the lack of a comprehensive plan for the design of the maps and signage onsite. The purpose of this research is to improve the visitor experience, especially that of tourists, by means of redesigning the maps and signage. To accomplish this goal, I completed a content analysis of the maps and signage found at Troy in summer 2014. To my knowledge, no comprehensive content analysis of the maps and signage at Troy had been previously conducted. However, a 2009 needs assessment study identified “poor and confusing wayfinding” and “visual clutter and chaos” as the two greatest risk factors that adversely affect the Troy visitor experience. As a UNESCO (United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site, Troy should be showcased as well as preserved. Thus, any effort to improve the visitor experience at Troy is important and timely, particularly with the opening of a new museum scheduled for late 2016. The content analysis of maps and signage at Troy was informed by scholarship in semiotics, broadly defined as the theory of signs. The semiotic approach is useful in understanding the denotation and connotation of maps and signage as an overarching system to the end of maximizing their communicative efficacy with site visitors. The content analysis also draws from practices in environmental graphic design, defined as the visual communication of information in a human-constructed environment. In this thesis, the term signage refers to the installation of signs in the environment that provide visitors with some information about the environment.