Wayfinding signs are just what you may assume: directional signs that tell you where you are going and how to get there. You can find them at bus stops, train stations, airports, shopping malls, restaurants, hotels, museums, and parks. These signs guide you in the right direction by allowing you to identify landmarks and recognize places you have already been.
Make Public Places Safe
Wayfinding signage should help people find their way quickly by identifying pedestrian areas and directing drivers to their lanes and parking spaces. Suppose you find yourself in an environment outside your comfort zone, like attending an interview in another city or starting university. In that case, you will understand the importance of wayfinding signage in helping ease unrest and safely guide you to your destination.
In a healthcare setting, wayfinding signage eases the anxiety of the medical experience. Such places use environmental graphics where one can easily follow a track guiding them to their location.
In public places, wayfinding signage helps with the flow of pedestrians and traffic, enhancing the safety of everyone. Public spaces may have pickpockets or cons looking for easy targets. As a way of guaranteeing safety for visitors and residents, your city needs to invest in wayfinding signage to prevent consequences of intentional misguiding by people looking to prey on visitors or residents who seem lost or unaware of how to get to their destination.
Provide Helpful Information to Tourists
Have you ever heard of cities that don‘t need wayfinding signage because they already have maps or GPS devices? Such cities miss out on the importance of wayfinding signage in saving time and increasing safety. In addition, wayfinding signage can help you attract tourists.
In fact, after the pandemic, most destinations welcomed at least three times more tourist arrivals. So, once the visitors arrive, they need plenty of information to navigate your city without bothering strangers when asking for directions, especially if they cannot access a GPS device. As a result, you need to place wayfinding signage around the city strategically. Ensure the signs are visible from both sides of the street to help pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers driving in either direction see the signs seamlessly.
Rebrand Your City
A wayfinding signage program is an excellent way for your city to rebrand and differentiate itself from other suburbs. Every city desires its visitors to enjoy its localized experience and increase its tax base by encouraging them to move in. Wayfinding signage design is a messaging solution that communicates the city’s character. Moreover, it adds a new feel, improving the city’s image. It is also a great way of raising awareness of the latest amenities it offers.
In addition, a wayfinding project for the city can help you unify its identity by being consistent with its character. That means your wayfinding design should be similar regardless of its placement. Also, the signs develop your city’s economic growth to help you benefit from the considerable traffic that passes through every day but never gets to experience your city’s beauty.
Unify a City’s Identity
Finding the right balance can be tricky when a city has multiple identities. That’s where wayfinding signage enhances consistency throughout the city‘s character. Consider this example: The City of Davis in California needed to find a way to incorporate branding between the UC Davis Campus and the vibrant downtown area. They chose to unify their identities with an all-encompassing wayfinding program. Its design is such that it cohesively links the two areas under the proud banner of Aggie blue and gold.
The city’s directional signs in the downtown area were designed to enable users to navigate smoothly between the campus and the thriving downtown area. Markedly the digital wayfinding solutions feature clear text, modern detailing, and a signature bicycle wheel motif. The signs are an aesthetically pleasing addition to the visual landscape. Therefore, the wayfinding signs have helped announce the City of Davis as an active, youthful, and welcoming city full of pride for the resident university.