Phase 3 of our Accessibility Project is well underway. Our team has developed our independent auditing system. We built that system with the help of all the specialists and contributors on our team.
Now, we are auditing temporary and permanent arts event spaces.
Our team came into this project with a lot of knowledge and experience, but we still learned a lot along the way.
One of the biggest challenges we have come across in arts spaces is wayfinding.
Professional wayfinding plans and proper signage are missing in many arts venues. This is also true for public-use spaces that are temporarily used for arts events.
In this blog post, we’ll focus on wayfinding. We’ll explain the purpose of wayfinding.
We'll also look at why it’s important to hire a qualified professional to create a wayfinding plan.
We’ll cover signage in a separate post soon, since it’s also a big topic.
What is wayfinding?
Have you ever entered a building and easily found everything you needed? You didn't get lost looking around. You didn't bump into anyone. When you waited for an elevator you had enough space to sit or stand without being in anyone's way.
Have you ever gone into a different building and felt frustrated because you can't find what you're looking for? Have you ever turned corners and bumped into people moving in the opposite direction? Or gotten stuck behind a lineup of people waiting somewhere when you needed to go around them?
Wayfinding is the act of planning the way that spaces are used. It includes signs but it isn’t just about the signs used to show someone how to navigate their way through a space.
Wayfinding also includes things like:
The way a space is physically designed and built.
The placement of things like stairs, windows, doors, signs, buttons, and lighting.
The use of colours to bring forth emotions and to signal actions e.g red indicating a prohibited or dangerous space.
The use of symbols, signs, and words.
Using sounds to communicate and to signal actions.
The size and scale of words and symbols.
The volume and pitch of sounds.
The way sound moves through different types of spaces.
All good wayfinding plans are built on theory and research. Experts in the wayfinding profession consider things like:
The way people interact with a space.
The way that shapes and colours can influence actions.
The way people pay attention to different things in a space. For example, what are people most likely to notice first, second, third - and how can one make sure the most important information is noticed first?
When assessing, planning, or enhancing a space, wayfinding experts ask themselves questions like:
How easy is this space to navigate? If I wanted to go to a specific area, can I find it?
How easy is this space to navigate if I cannot see or have low vision?
How easy is this space to navigate if I have a visual processing disorder or become easily overwhelmed by input in my environment?
Am I using universal symbols that can be recognized by non English speakers?
How obvious are the boundaries between different areas in this space?
Do pathways make sense, intuitively? Would people choose to walk in this space if there was no path? Might they skip through other areas as a shortcut?
These lists are just a small look at the many things that professional wayfinding planners consider. There is a lot more to it, which is why these professionals exist.
Why is wayfinding an accessibility issue?
Proper wayfinding and signage aren’t just about maps and labels. They help people understand how to use a space. This reduces confusion and anxiety while promoting a sense of belonging. That is especially true when wayfinding plans consider people with disabilities. For example, a wayfinding plan cannot only include signs and words. It should also include colors, sounds, maps, labels, symbols, and intuitive design. Great wayfinding plans also show people where other accessibility features are and how to use them.
How to best create a wayfinding plan
The best way to create a wayfinding plan is to hire a trained professional or team to create your wayfinding plan for you. As we’ve already discussed, there is a lot more to wayfinding than just creating maps. A trained professional is best equipped to create wayfinding systems that work for your built environment.
Only trained professionals are able to anticipate all of the difficulties a person may have navigating a space. They help create spaces that are easy to use. They also create spaces that are enjoyable to use.
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