Wayfinding systems serve vital roles for cities and can be an important element in developing a place brand. They inform, guide, and motivate visitors and residents. They are also important in shaping the identity of a place through their style, design, colors, lettering, content and placement. Good signage can contribute significantly toward the satisfaction of visitors and community pride among residents.
Emily Badger has an interesting article in Atlantic Cities about the importance and challenges of introducing wayfinding systems for cities of all sizes.
In her article, urban wayfinding expert Sue Labouvie, explains the science of helping us find our way in a city. She says, “Architectural signage and wayfinding isn’t about building a nicely designed sign. It’s about the information content and the analysis of the space or place that you’re trying to move people through, and coming up with a strategy of how you make this big complex thing simple and understandable to the user.”
When conducting Visitor Readiness Reports and brand strategies for communities we find that inadequate signage to be one of the main causes of visitor dollars leaking from places. This article provides some interesting perspective on wayfinding and its benefits. The wayfinding system in Forest Grove, Oregon (pictured) was installed in recent months and is already contributing to increased visitor satisfaction and the community's sense of identity.
Absolute Planning Solutions have a thorough understanding of local planning polices and council procedures and will help you get your views, ideas. This article of urban wayfinding is about the science and architecture.
urban planners
Posted by: urban planners | April 16, 2012 at 01:13 AM