During the last half of 2019, we were busy establishing a wayfinding strategy and signage family for the new Marina development in Ayia Napa, Cyprus. The Marina is a high-end development that along with the moorings includes apartments, villas and retail space among other offers.

We were brought on board to develop a wayfinding strategy for Marina Ayia Napa that considers all potential users and user-journeys. With the development being so large we needed to ensure every touchpoint across the Marina communicated the right information at the right time to achieve the best navigation and user experience possible.

Site analysis & strategy

Although we have worked on similar scale schemes before, Marina Ayia Napa had its own unique challenges. The biggest was looking into how customers would interact with the development from a boating perspective!

When developing our wayfinding strategy, we highlighted seven core principles (people-centred, context, hierarchy, relevance, legibility, consistency & environmentally

appropriate) to make sure that the users of the Marina had the best navigational help possible. The signage had to be people-centred; focusing around the type of clientele the Marina would attract, while achieving a clear hierarchy of signs that progressively narrows down the journey, from “big picture” to “building identifier”. Helping visitors to navigate through customs before arriving home, to the shops or maybe even the bar!

We also had to make sure that the signage had relevance, providing tailored information at each stage of the visitors’ journey, from the entrance to the site, the parking locations and end destinations.

Design intent and implementation

Our design intent was to reflect the core design ethos of the Marina. We began by outlining a number of sign types to ensure a consistent look across the site, selecting formats that worked best for each role they are serving. It was also important to make sure that the signs were legible and accessible to all user types while also retaining a consistent visual strategy and design structure. 

We started by using a combination of Marina Ayia Napa’s main brand colours: Marine, Sea and Deep Ocean, which complemented the surrounding moorings and bay. We then added Brass (which is used in the surrounding buildings), along with a combination of typography and a range of bespoke icons. This created a premium feel that reflected the high-end development of the Marina environment and its values. This tied in with the final core principle which was for the signage design and manufacture to be sympathetic to and consistent with the environment in which the signs appear. 

Please see the gallery below for further insight into our development work: