Engaging in any new environment – a report, a website, a transport terminal - people need to feel confident that they know where they are and where they are going. Using signposting to connect people to a real or virtual place gives them a sense of control over their immediate environment.
Good wayfinding makes a difference
Successful wayfinding projects identify key decision points along a route and provide signage or pointers so that the traveller can predict what lies ahead and make informed decisions.
By signposting clear routes through a space using designs that are in sympathy with the environment, you create easy to follow paths for the traveller to follow. Places that have some sort of visual context, one that provides additional structured meaning and functionality to directional signage, delivers a more enjoyable (and informative) user experience.
Consistency of language is important, especially if the traveller may engage with signage at any point in the system. And the sequence in which the traveller encounters information, and how specific that information is, is key.
Decisions, decisions...
First of all you need to know where you are starting from – a contents page or homepage; perhaps a car park or a plaza. Secondly, you want to know the general direction of travel to your primary destination. As you get closer, the signed information becomes more location specific and there are perhaps options for secondary destinations within the immediate vicinity – for example boxouts or features in a publication; cafes or toilets in a mall.
Thinking about these decision points – the points in the journey where a traveller will have questions, what sort of questions they will be and how the questions might be answered effectively – provides a structured sequence in which travellers encounter a seamless experience from the start of their journey to the finish.
Some decision point solutions adopt a zonal system, for example station signage with generic signs in the outer zone and more specific platform information in the inner zone. Other solutions use a point-to-point system, for example trails or cycle routes where each sign hands off to the next.
But too many signs can create confusion. Minimise the decisions your traveller has to make by sticking to the 7 +/-2 magic number (and always ask the question of whether a sign is in fact necessary at all).
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| Legible London street sign © TfL |
For example, the Legible London street signs and maps pilot is aimed at helping people find their way across London on foot. The sign system replaces existing maps at transport interchanges, such as bus stops and tube stations, and also appears on cycle hire docking stations.
By fixing the location in geographic space and providing local detail, alongside clear directions to destinations further afield, the wayfinding system encourages people to walk and to explore their local environment.
An additional benefit is that on average one Legible London sign replaces two pieces of redundant signage.
So whilst the setting often provides the framework for signage, the principles of wayfinding are about defining activity, ensuring a consistency of language and expressing information with character in order to create lasting connections between visitor and place.
