Wayfinding Signs

Types of Wayfinding Signs

Imagine our friend Jack is walking through a parking lot towards a large office building on his way to an interview for a great job that he is super excited about. Jack has been anxiously awaiting this interview for the last two weeks and as he moves closer to the building, he becomes increasingly nervous. Jack is running through questions and answers in his mind and trying to remember everything you are supposed to do during the interview.

As Jack enters the lobby, he panics as he realizes that he does not remember what suite his interview is in. Jack knows the name of the company, but he cannot remember where they are in the building. Jack checks his watch to see if he has time to run back to his car where he is certain he has it written down but the long line at Del Taco has put him behind and he does not think he has enough time to get to his car and back without being late for his interview. As Jacks really starts to panic, he begins to look around the lobby and joy overwhelms him as he sees his saving grace, wayfinding signs!

I think Jack would agree with me that wayfinding signage is very important. It allows people to find their way around a building without wandering around aimlessly or the need of a person to tell them where to go. You may or may not know what wayfinding signs are, but I am almost certain that you have used wayfinding signs at some point in your life and probably very recently. We are going to dive into a few different types of wayfinding signs and where they are typically used. This will certainly be an exciting read so grab your favorite beverage, ease into your favorite chair, snuggle up to the fire and enjoy.

Types of Wayfinding Signage:

Directories: Directories are found at the main entrances to the building as well as in elevator cabs or on each floor near the elevator. Directories in office buildings will typically list the companies that are in the building and will display them separated by the floor they are on and the suite that they are in. In a medical office building it may have the practices that are in the building separated by floor as well as the doctors that are in each practice shown under the practice name. In hospitals, the directory will show the different departments and where they are in the hospital such as on which floor or which wing. Hospitals can be a bit trickier because they are large buildings with a lot of departments and points of interest. There are also some areas in hospitals that the public does not need to go to so they may not be shown on the directory.

Think of the directory as your starting point. It helps to get you started in your journey by giving you an idea of where to go. But, buildings are large so it is easy to start walking away from the directory and still be confused on where to go but if you keep looking around you will find your next helpful sign, the directional sign.

Directional: Directional signs are there to help guide you after you leave the directory. Directional signs can be mounted to the wall or hanging from the ceiling. In some cases, you may even see them on the floor. Directional signs will have the same key destinations found on the directory along with arrows that guide you along the hallways to your destination.

Directional signs should be present at all decision points along your journey through the building so anytime you see a new hallway or intersection and you are trying to figure out which way to go you should be able to look around and locate the directional sign to verify that you are still going the right way. If you do not see your destination on the directional sign you may be right by the next type of wayfinding sign, the room Identification sign.

Room ID: The room Identification (ID) sign is the final sign in the wayfinding sign journey that lets you know that you have reached your destination. The room ID sign should have the same name on it that was on the directory and the same name you were following on the directional signs. Room ID signs can be simple in nature or very decorative and ornate, and will usually have the suite name or number and may have more information on it such as practicing doctors, names of attorney’s, suite hours, CPA’s, you get the idea.

The Room ID should be ADA compliant with raised text and braille and should always be installed next to the door and is typically found on the handle side of the door which is an ADA law. For more info on ADA law you can visit our website where we have broken down the ADA law: https://www.avalisway.com/resources/ada-resources

Other types of wayfinding signs

There are other types of wayfinding signs are flag signs. As the name implies, flag signs are signs that protrude from the wall like a flag would. They are typically smaller in size and will usually have less information on them. Flag signs are commonly used near restrooms so as you look down the hall, you can see the recognizable restroom symbol on the sign. You will also see them at elevators and sometimes they use them above a room ID sign to help more easily locate the suite or department.

Some buildings like to get creative with the wayfinding signs and they use colors or some other defining picture or symbol to aid in wayfinding. These pictures or symbols will be found on the directory, the directional sign and the room ID sign and can make it a lot easier to remember as well as a lot easier to navigate your way. Places like Children’s Hospitals may use cartoon type animals as part of their wayfinding signage which in addition to helping people find their way also helps brighten the atmosphere.

More about wayfinding signs

Now, I know what you are going to ask, “is wayfinding signage only found in buildings”. What a great question! The answer is no, they are found in many of the places you go. Imagine trying to go through the airport without signs telling you how to get to your gate or to baggage claim or even the dreaded security line. They are even used on the roadway on the way to the airport.

You will see wayfinding signs in malls, zoo’s, and even large department stores. The look and material used may be slightly different but with the same basic concept. Cities use wayfinding signs to help people get find their way to key destinations in the city. Even though we all use GPS when we are in a new area, the wayfinding signs still help you confirm you are in the right place.

The world would be chaotic without wayfinding signs, people would just be wandering around asking for directions and would always be late if they ever made it at all. OK, they may be a slight exaggeration, but wayfinding signs do help us find our way and whether you realize it or not, you use them a lot.

I am also happy to report that Jack did get the job he was interviewing for and was able to quickly locate a restroom after the interview thanks to wayfinding signs. On a side note, do NOT eat spicy food before an interview!

Timm Sparks

11/1/2020