When traveling, at the office, at the mall – we like to feel at ease and find our way to our designated destination with ease. How is it that in some places we navigate without any problem, while in others we wander to a specific destination? It is wayfinding that is responsible for navigating us through different spaces that are unfamiliar to us.
What is wayfinding and what impact does it have on our functioning?
Simply put, wayfinding is a system for navigating and solving spatial problems in places that are new and foreign to us. Good wayfinding is characterized by the fact that a person can navigate fully at ease in a space where he is for the first time, completely unfamiliar with its layout. Interestingly, well-executed wayfinding is imperceptible to the viewer. The user simply knows where he is and can easily locate the place he wants to get to.
Where is wayfinding used?
Wherever the user needs navigation to easily reach a specific destination: offices, shopping malls, train stations, airports, stairwells of residential buildings, tourist facilities, schools. Wayfinding plays a special role in the workplace, performing, in addition to space branding, an aesthetic function, but most importantly, improving movement. In offices it can be used in the form of marking individual rooms, and in warehouses or production halls it can be used in the form of marking a specific passage. Wayfinding in each case not only helps to find the way, but also improves communication between employees of an institution, unifying the naming of individual places, such as a conference room, accounting department or relaxation area. In wayfinding a workplace, you can also smuggle in elements of branding, such as colorful markings on the walls referring to the brand’s color scheme, which will make the space a bit more lively and characterful.
What makes up wayfinding and what characteristics should it have?
Very often wayfinding is an element of interior design that fits into a certain coherent whole and serves as a decoration. It consists of the following elements:
- All kinds of icons that can be personalized and designed to fit the branding and character of a particular company.
- Exterior signage, or directional signs showing the way to the office. The hallmark of this type of signage is that it must be, first of all, durable (they are exposed to adverse weather conditions), but also imaginative and aesthetic (they are, after all, a business card of the company).
- Signage that allows us to divide the office open space into different zones. Markings can be located on the walls or floor. In the case of smaller spaces, it works very well to make the division with the help of colors, in the larger ones an apt solution will be, for example, acoustic panels.
- Directional signage that makes it easier for employees and customers to navigate inside office spaces. Personalized directional signage tailored to the company's branding is a great idea.
- Signage, that is, functional signage, allowing to separate zones and rooms. Solutions such as semaphores with pictograms, room numbering, wall graphics in the form of wallpaper, stickers, photo wallpaper or posters are interesting here. Such signage adds a positive character and makes the office friendly.
- Information boards that provide summary information about the building and its functions.
- Schematic maps that serve to show the user his current location.
- Lining and frosting placed on glazing, serving to fence off and obscure a particular room, to add variety to a space, as well as serving a safety function, allowing users to avoid collisions with the glass.
- Logos - in this case, you can choose to present a company name or a corporate slogan that emphasizes the value of the brand. The logotype or slogan can also be made, for example, in the form of a neon sign.
For wayfinding to successfully perform its function it should have 3 basic features. First of all, it should be visible, i.e. made in the right size, color scheme and located in a place where the recipient can easily see it. Another very important element for the recipient is consistency, which means replicating the same graphics, schemes and color scheme in all signage. This will make the recipient know that all the signs form a single system and will lead him to the designated destination. The last feature to pay attention to when designing effective wayfinding is the speed of the message. People using signage at train stations, airports or shopping malls are very often in a hurry and expect to efficiently and easily find a wayfinding sign directing them to a specific destination. Thus, the use of signage that can be quickly read is a very important component of wayfinding. Next to this are some examples from our implementations.