Wayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people orient themselves in
physical space and navigate from place to place.
Basic process The basic process of wayfinding involves
four stages: Orientation is the attempt to determine
one's location, in relation to objects that may be nearby and the desired
destination. Route decision is the selection of a
course of direction to the destination. Route monitoring is checking to make
sure that the selected route is heading towards to the destination.
Destination recognition is when the destination is recognized.
Historical Historically, wayfinding refers to the
techniques used by travelers over land and sea to find relatively unmarked and
often mislabeled routes. These include but are not limited to dead reckoning,
map and compass, astronomical positioning and, more recently, global
positioning. Wayfinding can also refer to the
traditional navigation method used by indigenous peoples of Polynesia. The
ancient Polynesians and Pacific Islanders mastered the way of wayfinding
to explore and settle on the islands of the Pacific. With these skills, some of
them were even able to navigate the ocean as well as they could navigate
their own land. Despite the dangers of being out at sea for a long time,
wayfinding was a way of life. Today, The Polynesian Voyaging Society tries-out
the traditional Polynesian ways of navigation. In October 2014, the crew of
the Hokuleʻa arrived on another island in Tonga. [7]
Modern usage of the term Recently, wayfinding has been used in
the context of architecture to refer to the user experience of orientation and
choosing a path within the built environment. Kevin A. Lynch used the
term for his 1960 book The Image of the City, where he defined wayfinding as "a
consistent use and organization of definite sensory cues from the external
environment." In 1984 environmental psychologist
Romedi Passini published the full-length "Wayfinding in Architecture" and
expanded the concept to include the use of signage and other graphic
communication, visual clues in the built environment, audible communication,
tactile elements, including provisions for special-needs users.
The wayfinding concept was further expanded in a further book by renowned
Canadian graphic designer Paul Arthur, and Romedi Passini, published in 1992,
"Wayfinding: People, Signs and Architecture." The book serves as a
veritable wayfinding bible of descriptions, illustrations, and lists,
all set into a practical context of how people use both signs and other
wayfinding cues to find their way in complex environments. There is an
extensive bibliography, including information on exiting information and
how effective it has been during emergencies such as fires in public
places. The term wayfinding is also used to
refer to the set of architectural or design elements that aid orientation.
Today, the term wayshowing suggested by Per Mollerup is used to cover the act
of assisting way finding. "Wayshowing>Wayfinding" describes the
difference between wayshowing and way finding, and codifies the nine
wayfinding strategies we all use when navigating in unknown territories.
In 2010 AHA Press Published "WAYFINDING FOR HEALTHCARE Best Practices for
Today's Facilities", written by Randy R. Cooper. The book takes a comprehensive
view of Wayfinding specifically for those in search of medical care.
In modern travel and tourism literature, wayfinding can refer to getting between
two points in the easiest manner, or to navigating a location for pleasure.
Wayfinding in architecture, signage and urban planning
Modern wayfinding has begun to incorporate research on why people get
lost, how they react to signage and how these systems can be improved. Research
and information on Wayfinding can be found at SEGD's Wayfinding information
page [4] = Urban planning=
An example of a comprehensive urban wayfinding scheme is the Pittsburgh
Wayfinder System. Nashville, Tennessee has introduced a
live music wayfinding plan. Posted outside each live music venue is a
guitar pick reading Live Music Venue. = Indoor wayfinding=
Indoor wayfinding in public buildings such as hospitals is commonly aided by
kiosks, indoor maps, and building directories. Such spaces that involve
areas outside the normal vocabulary of visitors show the need for a common set
of language-independent symbols. Offering indoor maps for handheld mobile
devices is becoming common, as are digital information kiosk systems. Other
frequent wayfinding aids are the use of color coding and signage clustering.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 represented a milestone in helping
to make spaces universally accessible and improving wayfinding for users.
See also Desire path
Environmental psychology Orienteering
Space syntax Trail blazing
Urban planning Waymarking
Wayfinding software Further reading
Chris Calori, Signage and Wayfinding Design: A Complete Guide to Creating
Environmental Graphic Design Systems, John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-465-06710-7
Environmental Graphics: Projects and Process from Hunt Design.
Paul Arthur and Romedi Passini "Wayfinding: People, Signs and
Architecture",. ISBN 978-0075510161, ISBN 0075510162
References