Wayfinding
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Wayfinding (or way-finding) encompasses all of the ways in which people (and animals) orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place. Wayfinding software is a self-service computer program that helps users to find a location, usually used indoors and installed on interactive kiosks or smartphones.
Basic process
[edit]The basic process of wayfinding involves four stages:
- Orientation is the attempt to determine one's location, in relation to objects that may be nearby and the desired destination.
- Route decision is the selection of a course of direction to the destination.
- Route monitoring is checking to make sure that the selected route is heading towards the destination.
- Destination recognition is when the destination is recognized.[1]
Historical usage
[edit]Historically, wayfinding refers to the techniques used by travelers over land and sea to find relatively unmarked and often mislabeled routes. These include but are not limited to dead reckoning, map and compass, astronomical positioning and, more recently, global positioning.[2]
Polynesian wayfinding refers to the use of traditional wayfinding and navigation methods by the indigenous peoples of Polynesia.[3] The ancient Polynesians and Pacific Islanders mastered the methods of wayfinding to explore and settle on the islands of the Pacific, many using devices such as the Marshall Islands stick chart. With these skills, some of them were even able to navigate the ocean as well as they could navigate their own land. Despite the dangers of being out at sea for a long time, wayfinding was a way of life.[4] Today, The Polynesian Voyaging Society tries-out the traditional Polynesian ways of navigation.
Urban or indoor
[edit]
Wayfinding is used in the fields of architecture, urban planning and communication design and refers to the user experience of navigating and orienting oneself within the physical environment. It has been defined as a spatial problem-solving process involving the interpretation of visual and environmental cues to navigate to a destination in a familiar or unfamiliar environment.[5]
A wayfinding system is a set of tools designed to help users effectively navigate a complex physical environment and may include a combination of signage, maps, digital tools, and spatial design.See also
[edit]- Wayfinding (urban or indoor)
- Direction determination
- Land navigation
- Location-based service
- Orienteering
- Sense of direction
- Trail blazing (waymarking)
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References
[edit]- ^ Lidwell, William; Holden, Kritina; Butler, Jill (2010). "Wayfinding". The Pocket Universal Principles of Design: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design. Rockport Publishers. p. 260. ISBN 9781610580656 – via Google Books.
- ^ O'Connor, M.R. (April 30, 2019). "GPS gives directions, but what does it take away?". Popular Science. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "Modern Wayfinding". Polynesian Voyaging Society. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Lin, Daniel (March 3, 2014). "Hōkūle'a: The Art of Wayfinding (Interview With a Master Navigator)". National Geographic. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ Passini, Romedi (2002). "Wayfinding research and design: An interdisciplinary approach in the development of design knowledge and its application". Design and the social sciences. London: CRC Press (published 24 April 2002). pp. 97–102. ISBN 9780429219276.