Guide Studio

How to determine the right wayfinding strategy for you

Here’s a story: Community X realized it had a big wayfinding problem. Actually, many problems. They heard people complain that existing parking was impossible to find while others said there just wasn’t enough of it. When asking another group, they heard the current signs were useless while others said they were helpful – but super ugly. Some city officials were concerned that visitors didn’t feel welcomed when they rolled into town and new businesses expressed they weren’t getting enough traffic. The list went on and on. None of it consistent.

Sound familiar?

You’re not alone. A lot of places – cities, neighborhoods, businesses, shopping centers, and more – encounter these headaches regardless of their history, size, shape, purpose, or audience. It can be difficult to figure out which problems are real and how to address them.

Unfortunately, many of them hear the complaints, make assumptions and jump to an all too common solution: MORE SIGNS!

While, in some cases, more signage may be helpful, the fundamental drawback is that places are trying to solve a problem without knowing what the actual problem is, which can be a catalyst for – you know it! – even more wayfinding problems.
Here’s how to know WHICH wayfinding strategy is going to be right for your community.

First off: There is No one-size fits all when it comes to a wayfinding solution
Just like you can’t get a reliable medical diagnosis without an evaluation by a specialist and unbiased analysis, wayfinding problems are hard to diagnose without an expert. While we understand and appreciate the ‘just do it’ mentality, testing out solutions to an undiagnosed wayfinding problem can be costly and problematic.

As one of the most important aspects of your place’s experience, it’s worth taking the time and resources to evaluate your wayfinding before jumping to a conclusion or solution.
As we’ve mentioned before, true wayfinding doesn’t use signs as Band-Aids to cover up the cracks and problems.

Furthermore, there are no universal best practices, assumptions or one-size-fits-all approaches that can be copied and applied to your wayfinding. What works for one place probably won’t work for yours.
With that being said, there is a unique wayfinding strategy for your place, and the key to figuring it out is to ask and listen.

Read more:

Wayfinding Audits and the Dangers of Self-Diagnosis - Guide Studio Here’s a story: Community X realized it had a big wayfinding problem. Actually, many problems. They heard people complain that existing parking was impossible