WHAT IN THE WORLD IS WAYFINDING?

WHO USES WAYFINDING?

You. Us. Your cat. Even your Roomba does now, too. 

Both in the context of design and day-to-day life, wayfinding is an innate skill that everyone uses.

WHAT IS WAYFINDING?

Wayfinding can mean a few things. Primarily, wayfinding refers to the mental processes that our brain uses to navigate and experience space. In the context of design, wayfinding is the tools, strategies, or design details that allow people in a space to understand and use the space for its intended purpose. 

The simplest example of a wayfinding tool is a sign. Road signs, such as one-way arrows, are a standardized and recognizable indicator for direction of travel. Anyone on the road can see a one-way arrow, interpret its meaning, and act on the appropriate course of action in an instant to keep traffic flowing smoothly. Similarly, street signs allow passerby’s to infer where they are based on secondary knowledge (awareness of an area, or knowing the city’s streets), or locate themselves using a secondary wayfinding tool, like a map. 

In an interior setting, signage works in a similar way. Wayfinding signage can vary based on the type of setting, but are immediately recognizable and inform use. In a restaurant setting, an “order here” sign (or even just the menu board) indicates where to go to place an order or be seated. Alternatively, at a hotel, you’ll often see a sign on the wall indicating which rooms are in which direction when you get off the elevator. 

However, wayfinding is not always literal. Both in everyday life and in design, wayfinding can be abstract and sensory, and does not always rely on visuals or language. 

Say for instance that you’re on vacation in an unfamiliar city. You’re trying to get to a specific place, but Google maps is sending you in circles, so you stop into the nearest business to ask a local for directions. The directions you get are often a string of instructions, and sometimes require interpreting a mix of street names or landmarks. “Walk all the way up the street and take a right, go straight until you see the church with the gargoyles, then take a left onto King’s Road. If you get to the Starbucks, you’ve gone too far”. In this instance, the act of wayfinding is the process by which you create and follow a mental map based on the information you are given. Your mental map guides you, and the points along your trail are secondary confirmation to your direction. 

Another instance of this is a scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt is essentially a wayfinding game, often relying on clues or riddles requiring secondary knowledge to decipher and make your way to a location (without literal directions). 

WAYFINDING IN DESIGN

In design, wayfinding strategies take many forms. Some are literal (like signs), and rely on language to inform intended use. However, designers will often aim to implement wayfinding strategies more creatively, and think critically as to what conceptually makes sense as a guiding tool within a space. This could still be a visual indicator, albeit less literal than a sign, or an abstract or sensory solution. 

Visual contrast is often used as a wayfinding tool. This in and of itself can take many forms. For example, a change in floor material to create a path is a literal guide through a space, indicating that the path leads somewhere – however, there is no sign or other indication telling people they have to walk down this path. This strategy is often used in retail (leading to checkout) or hospitality (leading to reception). Another example that most people would be familiar with is at IKEA. Showrooms and displays extend around a winding path, though there is a clear path through it all that leads from beginning to end. No one enforces this path, you could start at the end and go backwards, but the wayfinding and circulation tools used in the space make a common route of travel easily identifiable. 

Another example of a visual contrast tool is colour blocking. Colour blocking is often used in larger commercial projects, offices, as well as hospitals. Colour blocking involves thematically planning a colour scheme related to specific areas. Hospitals often do this with specific wards or floors, allowing staff to quickly orient themselves within the floor plan, as well as allowing guests to find the area they’re looking for. Hospitals can have very complex floor plans, but if someone is looking to visit family in a specific zone, they know that all they have to do is follow one colour rather than read every sign.  

Beyond visual solutions, wayfinding can also be sensory. In a commercial space such as a hair salon, there may be a retail area near reception for guests to browse as they wait. Guests will see the retail area regardless, but designers or business owners may strategically implement a sound system or a diffuser – something that incentivizes or draws guests towards the retail space through other senses, such as a pleasant smell or calming sounds. 

Wayfinding tools can also be tactile. The most common example of this is braille signage for visually impaired users of a space, or tactile strips on the ground near stairs to inform that there is a step up or down. Tactile design strategies are also often used in daycare or child-related settings. Children are naturally curious, and providing a material change or area with soft finishes (such as fabrics, carpet, or even textured wall panelling) will naturally draw younger kids towards this zone. This is useful in play rooms, or other areas where you want to promote engagement. 

SO WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

Wayfinding is important because it informs use. When someone is unsure how to operate within a space, it promotes discomfort and can even make you feel unsafe. Feeling lost in a building can leave a lasting negative impression, and from a business perspective, can lead to a loss of customers or clients if they begin to associate that discomfort with the business itself. Wayfinding is also crucial from an efficiency standpoint. In a hospital setting, where moments can be precious, a doctor or nurse’s ability to navigate and quickly make their way to a specific location can have critical implications. Clear wayfinding is also important from a safety perspective. Building code outlines specific distances, allowances, and clearances required for circulation and egress within a building. In part, this affects functionality of the space and prevents long, run-on, winding corridors with no exit, but more importantly, ensures that paths of travel in case of an emergency (such as a fire, power outage, etc.) are as efficient as possible and clearly identifiable. Not all wayfinding considerations are so dire, but no matter what, it is important that users of a space are able to quickly understand where to go (and why).