Institute for American Indian Studies

Client   Institute for American Indian Studies
‍Services   Educational and Wayfinding Signage Design
‍Design Firm   Freelance
‍Role   Graphic Designer
Tools   Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop

The Institute for American Indian Studies, is a non-profit museum in Washington, CT, that works to preserve and educate about the diverse traditions, vitality and knowledge of Native American Cultures. They do this work through research, collection, and engaging with the community. Their visitor offerings include a native medicinal garden, escape room, educational programs, and museum showcasing Native American art, tradition, and culture exhibits.

Road Signage

The Problem

Visitors were missing the entrance to the museum and people driving by weren't aware it was a museum.

The Goal

To increase visibility of the entrance and to make it more clear what visitors would find in case they were just driving by.

The Solution

Bold and easy to read wayfinding signage for the road leading up to the Institute; keeping in mind zoning restrictions and driver visibility. The large lettering stating "Museum and Village" makes it more clear that it is a place anyone can visit and not just an educational institute or research center. In addition to the main sign are a couple of smaller, removable signs for museum hours and the escape room to provide more information and flexibility for future changes and additions.

Medicinal Garden Signage

The Problem

The museum has a native medicinal garden, but was lacking educational signage. The had some small signs within the garden, but they were difficult to read and weren't clear what plant they were pointing out.

The Goal

To have informational signage to teach visitors about the importance of native plants and pollinators. Updated signs were needed for indicating plants within the garden.

The Solution

Two large educational signs with colorful illustrations and information on what they can find within the garden as well as a poem written by Robin Wall Kimmerer. A smaller educational sign to teach visitors about the importance of pollinators and how we can protect our native pollinators. A fresh set of in-garden signs with illustrations as well as the common and latin names of the different plants. Numbers were included on the in-garden signs to correspond to a brochure containing additional information about each of the plants they find. (Illustration by Griffin Kalin)

Shannon Stolting