Design of pedestrian wayfinding signage systems

Esri UC2013 .

2013 Esri International User ConferenceJuly 8–12, 2013 | San Diego, California

Design of Pedestrian

Wayfinding Signage systemsAlireza Karduni

University of Illinois at Chicago

Esri UC2013 .

The Question is :

• How do pedestrians navigate through urban

spaces?

• How do we get lost ?

Design of Pedestrian Wayfinding Signage systems

Esri UC2013 .

What information do you get from this view?


Esri UC2013 .

What information do I get from this view?


Esri UC2013 .

Information fields

• Useful information in the urban space that helps

the pedestrian “find their way”

• The better and the clearer the information, it will

be easier to naviagate.


Esri UC2013 .

What is Wayfinding?

• It is important to know how pedestrians find their

way to be able to help them do it.


Esri UC2013 .

What is Wayfinding?The process of wayfinding

• We try to find answers to a number of questions

while finding our ways.

• From :

• The environment,

• people that know the area better,

• signage,

• landmarks, …


Esri UC2013 .

What is Wayfinding?Questions that a pedestrian asks


Esri UC2013 .

What is Wayfinding?Conecpt


Esri UC2013 .



Esri UC2013 .



Wayfinding stepsWhat can the proposed system do?

Decision making

Show major destinations in the area

Show major activities in the area

Wayfinding

Show approximate time to get to the destination

Show the best route to the destination

Show available modes of travel

Finding the destination

Show the Naming of major urban spaces

Show the Important landmarks

Esri UC2013 .

What is a Wayfinding Signage system?The process of wayfinding

• A system that tries to give answers to these

questions.


Esri UC2013 .

What is a Wayfinding Signage System?The Elements of a Wayfinding System


Esri UC2013 .

Design of Wayfinding signage systems!


• Most signage designs pay attention to the

aesthetic aspects of their signs

• The information system is mostly neglected

Esri UC2013 .

Design of Wayfinding signage systems!


• A successful designer pays attention to all

elements of the design!

Esri UC2013 .

The project:


• Wayfinding system for a part of region 6 ,

Tehran!

Esri UC2013 .

Region 6, Tehran


Esri UC2013 .

Region 6, Tehran


• Daily, around 1.5 million people go to this part

of Tehran.

• University of Tehran,

• Ministry of Education,

• concentration of Bookstores,

• City Theater,

• and much more.

Esri UC2013 . Design of Pedestrian Wayfinding Signage systems

Current Signage in this region

Esri UC2013 .

The project

• Wayfinding plan for region 6, Tehran


Esri UC2013 .

Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranInformation system


• The content that is going to be in the signs.

• Based on this table

• I wanted my designs to adress these steps as

holistically as possible

Wayfinding stepsWhat can the proposed system do?

Decision making

Show major destinations in the area

Show major activities in the area

Wayfinding

Show approximate time to get to the destination

Show the best rout to the destination

Show available modes of travel

Finding the destination

Show the Naming major of urban spaces

Show the Important landmarks


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranLand use


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranMajor Destinations


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranNaming places and spaces


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSign Locations!

• But we have limited spaces on our signs,

• How can we know what to put on the signs?

• It all depends on where the sign is located.


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSign Locations!

• Pedestrian Flow

• Decision making Points

• And optimum sign locations


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSpace Syntax

• Visibility

• Axial lines

• Integration


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSpace Syntax


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranDecision making points!

Esri UC2013 .

Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranStreet width


Esri UC2013 .

Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranApproximate sidewalk width



Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSign Location


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranSign Orientation


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranHierarchy of Destinations!


Wayfinding system for region 6, TehranGraphical factors

• Font size : determines from how far the

information can be seen

• Color : determines within what light situations

and color backgrounds the information can be

seen

• Layout : Determines how cool and legible your

sign can be


Graphical SystemColors , Icons, Text


Graphical SystemThe map that goes on the signs : Base Map

Esri UC2013 .

Incorporation into signage

• by knowing the location of each sign we can see

What information will go to each sign , and we

would know the direction to those destinations



Graphical SystemThe map that goes on the signs : Overview Map


Graphical SystemThe map that goes on the signs : Detail Map


Graphical SystemHeading towards the sign

This is a pedestrian signage !


Graphical System

This shows you where you are headed!

Or where you are!

Getting closer


Graphical SystemCloser !

Directions to major destinations

These are categorized by direction


Graphical SystemAlmost there!

A map that gives you an overview of the

Sign and how much you can travel in

minutes


Graphical SystemBy the sign

A detailed map of your immediate

Surroundings and a 5 minute radius

Walking distance

An index of the street and their location

In the sign


The sign!


Hardware System

• You can also design the actual sign, which I didn’t

have the time to do

• But theoretically , the location of the sign, the width

of the sidewalk, and some other factors would

determine the size of your sign

• The climate , the background colors would

determine the material and techniques that you

want to use to design your signs


Hardware System

• Land use hierarchy and naming gives you a

destination categorization in GIS

• Pedestrian flow analysis and decision making

points optimizes the sign location

• using these two processes you can use design and

visibility rules to layout your sign and make it more

useful to the pedestrian


A great book for Graphical and hardware

Design of signage

• Signage and Wayfinding Design: A Complete

Guide to Creating Environmental Graphic

Design Systems by Chris Calori

http://www.amazon.com/Signage-Wayfinding-Design-Complete-Environmental/dp/0471748919/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373236903&sr=8-1&keywords=Chris+calori

http://www.amazon.com/Chris-Calori/e/B001JSJPB2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1373236903&sr=8-1


A great wayfinding project

• Check out Legible London

• It is an implemented signage plan which taught

me a lot !


Space syntax

• Space syntax was pioneered in the 1970s

by Prof Bill Hillier, Prof Julienne Hanson and

colleagues at The Bartlett, University College

London

• Bin Jiang has made an extension for ArcGIS

that has space syntax functions, It is free to

use for educational use! It’s called AxWoman

• Space is the Machine

http://www.spacesyntax.com/professor-bill-hillier/

http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/graduate/research/space/space-syntax

Esri UC2013 .

ThankYou for listening


Esri UC2013 .

Alireza Karduni

This presentation was part of

presenter’s project of Urban Planning

and Design at

University of Mazandaran, Iran

Under Supervision of :

M. Haghjou

Design of

Pedestrian

wayfinding

signage systems

Design of pedestrian wayfinding signage systems

Design

Transcript of Design of pedestrian wayfinding signage systems