A place of interest can be even more interesting when you know its background. But without context, visitors to these places can miss the stories hidden within them.
A well-positioned lectern sign can change that. By combining engaging copy with photographs, maps or illustrations, it helps visitors connect what they see with the people, wildlife and events that have helped it become what it is today.
Here, we discuss how lectern signs can bring your site to life.
Use a lectern sign to explain what visitors can see
Lectern signs work particularly well when the story relates directly to something visible from where the visitor is standing. Their angled format is instantly recognisable and helps people to read the interpretation, whilst looking beyond the panel to the feature being described.
For example, information lecterns could:
- Identify mountains from a viewpoint
- Explain the remains of a historic building
- Show how a landscape has changed over time
- Point out wildlife habitats around a lake or wetland
- Identify buildings within a historic townscape
- Explain archaeological features that are difficult to recognise today
This way visitors don’t have to seek out this information separately; the interpretation is part of exploring the place.
Signage tip: If you’re planning lectern placement, stand where your proposed lectern sign will go. What can visitors actually see from that exact position? Your story should start there.
Build your information lecterns around one clear story
Give each information lectern one central idea rather than trying to explain everything about a site. The National Lottery Heritage Fund recommends identifying a ‘big idea’ for interpretation, supported by a small number of key messages. It also advises layering information so the most important message comes first.
Let’s use a historical estate as an example. Instead of attempting to fit its entire history onto one panel, you could break it down into several and focus on:
Showing how the place has changed. Use maps, archive photographs, or illustrations to help unfold what visitors can no longer see. An old photograph alongside the present-day view can show a former railway, a demolished building or previous use of the landscape.
Introducing the people behind the place. Tell visitors about people whose stories connect directly with the location. Quotes, diary extracts, historic photographs, and short anecdotes will make the interpretation board feel relatable.
Revealing details people might otherwise miss. Draw attention to features that are easy to overlook. That could be an unusual plant, traces of an old boundary, a carving on a building or evidence of former industry.
Related reading: Our guide to using heritage signage to improve visitor experience has more ideas for structuring interpretation across historic sites.
Make park lectern signs visually engaging
Use images to help with storytelling and break up large blocks of text. The Heritage Fund specifically recommends photographs, illustrations, diagrams, maps, timelines, and infographics as interpretation tools.
Depending on the story, your panel might combine:
- Then-and-now photographs – to show change
- Annotated panoramas – to identify landmarks
- Maps – to put the visitor’s location into context
- Timelines – to simplify chronological stories
- Wildlife illustrations – to identify local species
- Reconstruction drawings – to show lost features
This is where professional design really does matter. Read more about the importance of graphic design for information boards.
Worth knowing: Images aren’t just decoration. Each photograph, map or illustration should have a job within the story.
Encourage visitors to explore beyond the interpretation board
Your interpretation board can be the starting point for a story. Including a QR code on it can take interested visitors to oral histories, archive photographs, videos, longer articles or audio interpretation.
Do have the essential story on the physical sign, though. As the Heritage Fund points out, smartphones aren’t universal, and internet coverage can be patchy, particularly at outdoor sites.
The panel should still make sense even if nobody scans the code.
Choose a lectern sign designed for its surroundings
Match the material and design of your lectern sign to the character of the site together with the information it needs to display. In woodland, parkland and countryside settings, timber can sit more naturally alongside the surrounding landscape.
Our wooden signage range includes oak lecterns and interpretation panels that can be combined with matching finger posts, information posts and other signage across a site.
Find the right lectern signs for your site with Notice Boards Online
At Notice Boards Online, we know every site of interest presents its own practical considerations. Our clients tackle everything from uneven ground and exposed locations to fitting new signage around existing features.
That can make choosing the right format less straightforward than it first appears. Browse our lecterns and interpretation panels to explore the options available. Alternatively, get in touch with our team if you’d like advice on finding the right solution for your site.