Dec. 09, 2024
Finding your way in an unknown building or environment can be tricky, especially if you&#;re there for the first time. Fortunately, finding your way can be streamlined through various tools, among which the discipline known as wayfinding is the most important one. In this post, we will show you (with examples) what wayfinding is all about.
Click here to get more.
Imagine a typical situation &#; you enter a large building or go to the business area. You&#;re looking for a specific company &#; located in a specific building on a particular floor. How do you get there? You can use guidelines on the company&#;s website (provided they offer such a convenience), download or use a map on your smartphone, or use signage that&#;s most likely available in the area. This signage, helping you find your way to the desired place, plays a major role in wayfinding.
In general, it&#;s a discipline or a process people use to locate themselves in a given physical space and navigate to a desired location. For us, as branding professionals, wayfinding is an essential element of branding, especially for companies operating at least partly from the office. Typically, we can divide the process of finding a way into four major stages:
Going further, wayfinding comprises three basic tools:
Let&#;s have a closer look at each tool.
The first kind of wayfinding tool is based on physical signage located in different places, e.g., near the entrance, on every floor, in or near elevators, etc. You can place signage on the ground, on a wall or as a standalone totem. Moreover, such signage can be backlit to offer support 24/7.
Image source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/the-post-oak-hotel-at-uptown-houston-placemaking-totem-sign&#;/Finding your way at a large airport can be tricky. That&#;s why, in , two London airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, started offering the world&#;s first wayfinding app based on augmented reality (AR). This app uses beacons located in different places within the airport, helping locate each user and direct them to a desired destination (e.g., a gate or a check-in counter).
Image source: https://interestingengineering.com/culture/gatwick-airport-uses-augmented-reality-help-catching-flightsThey are a common sight in every shopping mall, but also in other locations. Interactive kiosks help visitors, passengers and customers:
For instance, Liberty Center in Cincinnati uses this kind of direction for everyone who visits the place. Moreover, you can easily integrate their system (delivered in cooperation with Google) with mobile devices (without downloading any software). Liberty Center&#;s kiosks detect a given visitor&#;s location and give them interactive walking directions in real-time. In other words, this system works like an indoor GPS.
Generally speaking, we can distinguish three basic types of signs used for wayfinding purposes:
Directional signs (directing visitors to a specific location)Identification signs (describing the current location) Warning signs (indicating safety/emergency solutions)In a sentence? Basically, wherever it&#;s easy to get lost. Typical applications of wayfinding tools comprise the following locations:
Follow the ABB&#;s wayfinding design and be sure to stay on track- check out our case study.
A wayfinding system has to be, above all, useful and intuitive. Sticking to the principles we outline in this article will help you ensure the majority of your visitors/customers have no problem finding their way or getting to their destination.
You need to remember that wayfinding is an integral element of branding, which in turn, is a comprehensive process of building image and brand awareness. That said, good wayfinding is based on an existing brand or creates a separate building&#;s brand. It touches on the facility&#;s history, place, city, and purposes and uses these elements to create something new and creative.
That&#;s exactly what we did with our wayfinding signage system for ABB. Read more about this project.
Before you start designing any part of your wayfinding system, you need to analyse the premises. Where is the wayfinding information needed? What kind of wayfinding system will work best in your case? Do you have to include some special needs of people visiting your building (e.g., visually impaired or disabled)?
Image source: https://www.teiresias.muni.cz/en/library-and-publishing/services/producing-navigation-signageFirstly, always use a straightforward design for your signs so that many people can easily understand them. Secondly, don&#;t include too much information; stick to short messages and names. Thirdly, use a sans-serif typeface, which is usually more legible. Moreover, use wide letter proportions and clear spaces to ensure good readability. Bilingual signage is also a good idea if you know people are speaking different languages in your building. Here is a good example of a Canadian airport with signage in two languages &#; English and French:
Image source: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/kelowna-bilingual-signage&#;/As you can see, the sign also includes a commonly-understood icon of a plane taking off. These icons play a crucial role in every international environment.
However, location is also important. In general, signage should be located in sight so that it can be quickly located. In addition, you can also consider using non-standard locations such as the ground/floor. Here is a good example of such signage used at Milano Malpensa airport:
Such signs can be very useful if you want your visitors to follow a specific path to their destination, for instance.
Colours play a big role in all safety signs:
When it comes to wayfinding, you have more flexibility. However, it is important to use colours that enable a clear and quick understanding of what you want to show or convey. Ensure the contrast is sufficient and that the used colours are not aggressive (trying to read signage made in aggressive, vibrant colours is tiresome).
Additionally, it&#;s better to use calm, earthly colours in places like clinics, hospitals, SPAs, etc. where you usually want people to be calm and in a good mood.
Image source: https://www.digitalsignagetoday.com/blogs/top-10-ways-to-use-digital-signage-in-a-hospital-2/
Every element of your wayfinding system should be designed in the same way. The human brain looks for patterns everywhere. Using different signs, colours or fonts will only confuse your visitors.
Gestalt psychology focuses on how the human mind organises and interprets visual data. We can distinguish six crucial Gestalt principles that are used in wayfinding and design in general:
There are several benefits of a well-designed wayfinding system:
In conclusion, our experience here at Admind shows that more and more companies discern the potential of a well-designed wayfinding system. They start treating it as an internal part of their branding. From our perspective, that&#;s the best approach you can adopt.
If you want to design a wayfinding system for your company:
This way, you will make your building/facility safer and easier to navigate. And that&#;s the whole point of every signage system out there.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit zigo.
Share this article on
Wayfinding design is the art and science of using signs, symbols, color, and type to enable people to easily navigate a place. Wayfinding design is particularly essential in built environments since it provides the visual clues that assist visitors in reaching their goals with ease. In each project, we collaborate closely with the key stakeholders and other design consultants. Adept Creative is capable of creating visual wayfinding systems that reflect the project&#;s brand voice.
We categorize wayfinding signage as either Vehicular or Pedestrian, beginning with a traffic flow study to assess how people will move through cities and into places. After thorough study, a methodical design procedure is investigated from diverse viewpoints in order to produce an inclusive wayfinding signage system that can serve the community as well as stand the test of time
There are many variables to consider when selecting a wayfinding system for your business &#; but this does not imply it has to be difficult. Factors to consider when choosing a wayfinding system include your overall scope, objectives, ADA requirements, branding, future needs, and the use of environmental visuals in place of traditional signage.
How are you going to get the people from one point to another?
Wayfinding systems help you guide your guests throughout the exterior and interior areas of your brand space. Furthermore, these sign systems can help ease frustration and provide guidance in stressful environments such as hospitals or medical offices. Wayfinding helps your guests and visitors get where they&#;d like to go!
Defining your wayfinding system&#;s tactics will assist you in focusing on which sign products to include into your plan. What are you hoping to accomplish with your brand location? What role will signage play in helping visitors get to where they need to go? Is it just for navigation, or do you want it to aid with traffic flow as well? Have you considered the significance of ADA considerations for your signage? These answers might differ depending on the setting and internal requirements.
A major healthcare facility, for example, will require different signage from a tiny dentistry with just a few corridors. A hospital campus would need a full exterior parking sign system to allow visitors to easily locate suitable parking and enter the facilities on time. Meanwhile, a dentist&#;s signage might simply include a few designated parking signs and perhaps some directional assistance, but nothing like a parking garage or satellite lot. Furthermore, the sign designs for a local church versus an airport in the same region would be quite different.
The scope of a wayfinding system is one of the first things to consider before getting into the specifics of the project. How big will the project be? The following are several factors to think about while designing your signage: time, technology, materials, cost, design, branding considerations, and production.
When it comes to outfitting a facility or campus, you have a lot of options for signage. It&#;s critical to discuss both the interior and external elements of your wayfinding plan with your manufacturer when you do.
Interior signs, which include everything from lobby directories and overhead directional signage to room and floor numbering, ensure that your visitors are never bewildered while in your brand space. The use of interior signs in large facilities such as academic institutions and corporation offices is beneficial. Whether it&#;s making your first 8 a.m. class, keeping an appointment or meeting on time, or establishing a reliable navigation system can assist with irritation in stressful situations and ensure that your visitors get where they need to go correctly. The quality of being able to easily navigate an interior space will increase the likelihood of them coming back again.
The entrance and directional signage you use can have a significant impact on the impression your visitors get of your home. An outdoor wayfinding bundle includes building numbers, names, regulatory and parking signs. They&#;ll be able to find their way to wherever they&#;re going in a simple and stress-free manner, generating goodwill and client gratification. Parking signs are critical
Will this wayfinding system need to be added on to later on? When you entrust your wayfinding system to someone else, be sure to discuss what your future requirements may be. It might save you money in the long run based on the project as a whole.
Sign systems may be set up all at once or over a period of time that is appropriate for your brand&#;s objectives. When you start the process, ordering a complete wayfinding package might sometimes save money and time. For example, you might need three halls to have room signs installed. However, you intend on doing this one corridor at a time.
There are several active components to consider when designing a ADA compliant wayfinding system. Braille and raised lettering are two significant distinctions that distinguish interior wayfinding signage. However, it goes further than that. Sign height, sign size, type of font, and contrast of font to backer all have specific guidelines.
It&#;s also critical to evaluate ADA standards for exterior wayfinding. Yes, generally there will be no braille or raised letters &#; but accessibility goes beyond that. ADA criteria assist anybody with a disability in gaining access to your brand&#;s environment. This implies that the ADA doesn&#;t stop when you enter a facility; it starts the moment someone approaches your company.
What does this mean for exterior signage? Exterior signs must adhere to a number of criteria, including size, color, contrast, and height. Furthermore, it must be easily readable by individuals with limited vision. Signage standards for the disabled are more stringent than those for the general public. Let&#;s talk about font type, size, and color.
The Department of Justice&#;s ADA standards, as well as Chapter 7, define specific criteria for signage regarding case, style, height, proportion, spacing, and thickness. All characters should be uppercase. The font style should be sans serif. Sign font should not be italicized, oblisked, script-style or otherwise
As you can see, producing sign fonts that are ADA compliant entails a lot of complex work! Going over all of the additional sections in detail would take quite some time. The point I would like to get across by showing these guidelines is how in depth the details for ADA text are. If you&#;d like to see the entirety of the signage guidelines, you can find them here.
Having a professional on board to assist you in determining what you need and don&#;t require in this sector is quite beneficial. The information and wisdom provided can help you save hundreds of man-hours and dollars throughout the manufacturing process. The Adept Creative team has a strong grasp on user-focused design, with an understanding of both the Americans with Disabilities Act and the ADA&#;s Standards for Accessible Design. We understand what it takes to create a space that is open to everyone, including those with visual impairments, hearing issues, and mobility difficulties.
The signage and graphics system is an essential component of a wayfinding system. Signage is often the lifeline of any kind of wayfinding system. Buildings, lighting, and landscaping assist and guide, but in complicated circumstances it&#;s usually signage that people seek for guidance. The dynamic of this may contribute to the misunderstanding that wayfinding refers specifically to signage in an environment. The fewer signs are required as a result of the greater attention paid to wayfinding, according to many professionals. The signage system just translates the environment for the spectator. If the decodes itself for the observer, then there is no need for signs.
Signage can be broken down into four classifications: Directional, Informational, Identification, and Regulatory. Directional signs typically direct the eye in the direction of one or more places. If it has an arrow, it&#;s almost certainly a directional sign.Informational signs work in tandem with Directional signs to convey the majority of wayfinding information. The heroes of the informative signs are maps, diagrams, and indices. When utilized alongside directional signage, they can answer two key wayfinding questions: &#;Where am I in relation to my destination?&#; and &#;Which direction should I go to arrive at my objective
Directional
Informational
Identification
Regulatory
A walkwaysign should be functional, attractive, and consistent. It&#;s also important for branding since it allows you to tell your story in a space and reach prospective consumers. Logos, colors, textures that represent your company are a fantastic approach to get visitors interested in your brand. What does this look like when seen through the lens of a wayfinding system? One might believe that sticking to corporate colors, liberally utilizing your logo, and upholding your firm&#;s vision on all of your signage is a good idea. You
Do you have a children&#;s area in your ICU? Perhaps you&#;ll want to use a more interesting texture or a more fun signage backer. In the legal world, you would keep things neat and basic across the board..
Environmental graphics may be a beautiful, cost-effective alternative to conventional wayfinding technology. A typical business area may become an immersive, branded environment when wrapped with high-quality images. Arrows on the floor of airports or directional cues in museums are two excellent examples of how to use environmental graphics to assist in navigation. Arrows on the floor of airports or directional pointers incorporated into museum walls may help keep the circulation of foot travelers going without drawing attention away from exhibits. When utilizing environmental graphics to lead your audience, it&#;s simple to incorporate subtle influences of corporate culture like quotations, history, and branding cues.
By implementing a well-planned wayfinding system, you can improve customer satisfaction and your brand image. Additionally, using environmental graphics in place of traditional signage can give your business an edge over the competition.
If you&#;re looking for a partner to help you with your wayfinding needs, look no further than Adept Creative. We have experience in designing and implementing signage and environmental graphics that not only help guests find their way, but also infuse your brand personality into the process. Give us a call today &#; we&#;d love to hear from you!
The company is the world’s best Wayfinding System Design supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.
Previous: None
If you are interested in sending in a Guest Blogger Submission,welcome to write for us!
All Comments ( 0 )