National Army Museum Signage & Wayfinding

Client

National Army Museum

Role

Signage & wayfinding, exhibition design, leaflets, design for print

Location

Chelsea, London, UK

Project

Following a major redevelopment of its Chelsea home, the National Army Museum reopened as a five-gallery, object-rich visitor experience.

It needed a clear wayfinding strategy and an integrated signage and wayfinding system to help people navigate the new thematic layout, while keeping the tone welcoming, contemporary, and family-friendly.

With more than 2,500 objects on display and multiple entry points, the museum also needed strong orientation at arrival and intuitive routes between galleries.

Our approach

Working with the Museum and architects BDP, ABG Design developed the site-wide wayfinding strategy, mapping visitor movement, decision points, and key sightlines across the building.

We then delivered a bespoke signage and wayfinding suite for entrances, permanent galleries, temporary exhibitions, and visitor facilities.

National Army Museum wayfinding signage on pillar

Solution

The system uses a clear hierarchy, consistent typography, and simple graphic cues to support both quick visits and deeper exploration.

Alongside the signage, we designed supporting visitor literature and café graphics to extend the wayfinding language into print and on-site touchpoints, ensuring a coherent experience throughout.

ABG Design also created the Museum’s first major temporary exhibition, War Paint: Brushes with Conflict, demonstrating how the wayfinding framework could flex seamlessly into new interpretive environments.