The content design of wayfinding
4 pillars of content design can be used to improve physical spaces
Content design gets the right information to the right people at the right time. As a content designer, it’s my job to figure out the best way to do this — and the answer is rarely the same from task to task. But, there are a handful of established principles that inform a content designer’s strategy: clarity, visual hierarchy, consistency, and relevance.
These 4 pillars can help drive a content strategy that will uncover “the right information”, “the right people”, and the “right time”.
In a separate domain is wayfinding, which typically relates to interior and architectural design. Wayfinding encompasses the ways in which people are directed through a space through signage, like signs that direct you to an elevator, an exit, or any other destination that they’re searching for. This assistance is essential in helping people to move around their environment and arrive at their destination.
And — just like content design — wayfinding must get the right information to the right people at the right time. Wayfinding signs are like a real-life navigation menu, the online version of which is a key focus for content designers. But the role of a content designer is typically limited to helping people navigate software. There isn’t explicit room for content designers to help people move around the physical world we live in.
There are generally 4 types of wayfinding signage:
- Identification signs:, which lets a person know what something is. For example, signs on doors that let you know what is behind the door, like “waiting room”.
- Informational signs, which tell people broader things that they should know about the space. For example, an exit sign or a sign with a Wi-Fi password.
- Directional signs, which let a person know where to go. For example, signs that point towards a destination, like “check-in on ground floor”.
- Regulatory signs, which inform people about important rules and safety information. For example, a “fire exit only” sign.
These different signs serve different purposes, but all help people move through their environment with confidence and efficiency. The “content design” of these signs is instrumental in how effective they actually are.
It’s a bit of a gray area about exactly who chooses the words and images that get put on signs, but I’d like to argue that these people are content designers. Or at least they should be. And intentionally positioning this work for content designers could help create a more accommodating and helpful world.
Here’s where those 4 pillars I covered earlier come into play.
Clarity
Clear and concise language is essential to good content design, because it saves vital time and effort. It helps people understand what you’re trying to communicate more quickly and effectively.
The more that you write, the less that people will read.
With wayfinding, clear messages help people quickly understand where to go. There’s no room for uncertainty with wayfinding signage — that kind of removes the point. If people misunderstand the sign, then the sign is a complete failure.
Take this fire warning/instructional sign for example:
It’s pretty clear that you should use the building’s stairs when there’s a fire. The phrasing is succinct and doesn’t leave much room for misinterpretation.
Compare that to this sign:
Don’t worry — this doesn’t actually exist — I made this atrocity myself. This sign is too wordy, doesn’t quickly convey the important message, and is phrased closer to a suggestion than instruction. In the event of an actual fire, a sign like this could cause confusion, delay, and have dangerous consequences.
Visual hierarchy
Visual hierarchy refers to the way that information is hierarchically presented to users, through different fonts, text sizes, colors, and so on. Focusing on visual hierarchy helps suggest which information is the most important in a UI, and which concepts are related to each other. This helps draw users’ attention to the most essential information first and supporting information second.
This is the same with wayfinding. Most people are looking for a single bit of information, which should be the most prominent. Additional information should take up less presence so that it doesn’t cause confusion. If someone is in a rush, they may be able to get away with ignoring supplemental information, depending on the sign.
Let’s look at a directional sign this time:
This sign is okay (worth stating this is a template for a customizable sign). Your eyes can find your room number quickly, though it would be odd to not just say “rooms 104–138” since all of these rooms in this example are to the right. But the visual hierarchy is clear — you’re meant to look at the rooms first and then the direction.
If this was swapped around a bit, it would be far less effective:
It’s not helpful at all to make the arrows or the logo the most prominent features. No one would be looking for a direction before locating the destination that they’re looking for. This kind of visual hierarchy would only slow people down as they move through a space.
Consistency
Consistent language, phrasing, and styling helps create a seamless user experience. It helps them use their previous knowledge to create a mental model that helps them navigate with confidence.
Wayfinding symbols, colors, and words should be used consistently to help users make associations quickly. Inconsistency interrupts the way that people comprehend their environment and prevents them from developing a confident understanding of a space.
Even a simple difference in words has consequences.
For example, most entrance doors are labeled to identify which door should be used as an entrance and which should be reserved for exiting. This helps keep the flow of traffic optimal and prevents disorder.
Let’s pretend that this next image is from the inside of the building — the other side of the previous doors:
While the doors say “enter” and “exit” on the outside, they say “push” and “pull” on the inside. Because of this lapse in continuity, as well as the vague labeling that is “push” and “pull”, visitors will likely find themselves unsure of which door they should use to exit or enter. Sure there may be some conventions that people could try to rely on (like always using the door on the right), but conventions aren’t always universally understood. There’s always a certain level of subjectivity that can be cleared up through good content design.
Relevance
Relevance is pretty make-or-break for a UI’s content design. Again, you need to get the right information in front of the right users at the right time. Getting any of these wrong can make a well-designed UI dysfunctional and ineffective. This means you have to understand who a piece of information is relevant to, and when it is actually relevant to them.
This is the same in wayfinding. You need to strategically place signage so that it helps direct users the right way. For example, you wouldn’t place a sign by a building entrance to advertise “CEO office room 582” to visitors if the office isn’t open to public appointments. There would be no reason that the overwhelming majority of visitors would care about this.
I’ve never seen this sign before, but it sure seems entirely irrelevant:
Irrelevant signage draws the attention of visitors, wastes their time, and suggests that unimportant information is something they should notice.
For the most part, wayfinding signage is at least relevant, even if it doesn’t square up well for the other 3 pillars. That’s because it costs companies money to place signs, and they hardly want to waste money on unnecessary signs.
There are more aspects of content design than just these 4 pillars, but they cover some of the most important parts and provide designers with strong, foundational focus areas. When user experience is valuable for environmental design (as it really always should be), it can be an oversight to exclude the expertise of a content designer. Bringing in the people with the right skills will save businesses and their visitors a world of pain and wasted time.
It’s important to add that the content design of wayfinding is also a matter of accessibility. Signs must be set up to benefit a range of people, including those with temporary or permanent disabilities. People need to know where a help desk is if they have trouble reading signs. People need to know where the closest elevator is if they’re unable to take the stairs. People need to know which restrooms have changing stations so that they can properly care for their child. People need signage fitted with braille, or other languages, so that people can understand a sign even if they can’t read its default language.
Content designers, with our skills in empathy, user advocacy, and problem setting, are prepped and primed to use their knowledge to improve more than the UI of a website or app. Our work can also enable people to live better lives outside of their screens.
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