Facilities of all sizes can benefit from wayfinding; it helps shuttle users between areas to arrive safely at a destination.
Learn more about the history of wayfinding, relevant regulations, and the four types of wayfinding signage with this infographic.
The following is a transcript of the Basics of Wayfinding infographic:
Wherever we go, and however we get there, WAYFINDING HELPS US NAVIGATE a confusing world.
Around the globe, airports, highways, malls, hospitals, and other facilities use systems of signs, signals, and other visual cues to shuttle users from "Point A" to "Point B" in the most efficient manner possible.
Wayfinding can help employees, vendors, and visitors navigate your workplace, as well.
Here's a brief look at the importance of wayfinding-and how it can help improve efficiency and organization.
Wayfinding has been around as long as people have migrated and moved. Here's a brief history of wayfinding and how it's used in cultures around the world.
3000 B.C.: Polynesia takes shape in the western Pacific Ocean. Polynesians would later develop a reputation for expert wayfinding by reading the sun, moon, waves, stars, and animals (such as birds in flight) for navigational clues.
300 B.C.: Rome constructs a transportation network that eventually swells to more than 50,000 miles of paved roads. Stone pillars built alongside the roads denote destinations, distances, and mile markers.
1908: Henry Ford's Model T rolls off the assembly line, many automobiles accessible to the average consumer and creating the need for wayfinding on public streets.
1935: The first edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) (now maintained by the Federal Highway Administration) becomes an American Standard, establishing regulations for roadway signage.
1960: Kevin Lynch coins the term "wayfinding" with the release of his book, "The Image of the City." The book examines how people interact with their environments as they navigate a city.
1964: Pictograms are part of wayfinding at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Twenty sport-specific and 90 general information pictograms communicate with audiences from around the world.
1976: The Society for Experiential Graphic Design (then the Society for Environmental Graphic Design) forms to encourage clear architectural signage and visual communication in a changing, more connected world.
There are few federal rules and regulations for wayfinding systems; most such decisions are left to individual facilities. Nevertheless, several agencies and organizations offer resources for planning an effective wayfinding system.
OSHA - 29 CFR 1910.37
FLOOR MARKING
OSHA maintains basic regulations for floor marking, which can be a critical component of a wayfinding system:
OSHA - 20 CFR 1910.37
EMERGENCY EGRESS
OSHA's rules for communicating egress routes in the event of an emergency can be found in 29 CFR 1910.37. Here's what to know when accounting for emergencies while designing a wayfinding system:
Federal Highway Administration
ROADWAY SIGNAGE
The Federal Highway Administration's MUTCD offers standards for roadway signage. These are required for public roadways, but also serve as guides for developing signage for parking lots, garages, and other private thoroughfares:
International Building Code
CHAPTER 10 (Means of Egress)
The International Code Council (ICC) develops codes and standards for the design and construction of buildings. Chapter 10 of the ICC's International Building Code speaks to means of emergency egress as part of a broader wayfinding system:
Stairway Identification Signs Other letters of number 1'' Min. 5'' Min. 1 1/2'' Min. Dimension 18'' x 12'' Min.
In the July 2008 issue of American School & University Magazine, wayfinding expert Ernest Dwight broke down wayfinding signs into four groups: identification, directional, informational, and regulatory signs. Here's a look at each type of sign: