Heriot-Watt University

Heriot-Watt’s main campus is located in Riccarton in South West Edinburgh on 380 acres of parkland. The campus consists of student residences, a postgraduate centre, shops, several library collections, childcare, healthcare, a chaplaincy, a variety of recreational and sports facilities, and a museum. It is also home to the Edinburgh Conference Centre and Europe’s oldest research park.

Wayfinder UK were asked to analyse the University campus to provide a university wayfinding strategy which would guide students, visitors and staff both internally and externally. The strategy needed to be detailed and conclusive, incorporating the entire campus, everything from the halls of residences to the Conference Centre needed to be assessed in order to formulate a cohesive plan. Our consultants analysed the large campus, assessing the best routes to a variety of buildings and took time to understand the typical routes taken by students.

The wayfinding team were met with a selection of problems during the project. External signage was not on allowed to be replaced and therefore the bespoke strategy needed to integrate into the old external system. However, the internal signage was open to change and the team were sure to suggest specific designs and materials in order to match the environment and promote the University’s brand.

The Edinburgh Conference Centre is the purpose-designed conference facility in the heart of Heriot Watt University’s Edinburgh campus. The centre has dedicated conference facilities for up to 600 delegates in addition to 1,000 square metres of exhibition space. This conference centre was highlighted by the team as an important part of the strategy, the centre is popular with businesses or charities who often put in events. It was therefore necessary to incorporate this into the communications strategy. It was understood that those who use the Conference Centre would be unlikely to use other parts of the University campus. Therefore the Conference Centre was given its own brand identity with signage which differed from the general University campus signage. This allowed the Conference Centres users to navigate to their destination quickly and effectively.

Wayfinder UK were successful in tackling the complexity concerning all the different faculties at the University, including the business park, conference centre and the summer courses offered for international students. Each potential user had to be considered and integrated into one complete scheme. Integrating all the communications across the campus under one cohesive strategy led naturally to improved navigation and communications throughout the University. The team also focused on upholding the University’s, emphasising the need for consistency to promote the university in the most positive light, reflecting the already established reputation of Heriot-Watt University.