World IA Day 2023 Global Keynote and Q&A with Leah Ferguson
TLDR; During her World Information Architecture Day 2023 keynote, Leah Ferguson explores why what we see on the surface is only a fraction of the information architecture and process that goes into developing positive environmental experiences.
World IA Day 2023 Global Keynote
*Note: The following is a paraphrased summary of Leah Ferguson’s World IA Day Keynote. Images have been designed by and are the property of Leah Ferguson.
How do you go about finding your way in new environments?
Travel blogs? Maps? An app on your phone?
When we think of wayfinding in the built environment, our first thought is often signage. After all, a sign will tell us where we are, or direct us to where we want to go. When we design our experiences and environments, there is much more happening below the surface. This is called Wayfinding.
What is Wayfinding?
Wayfinding is a user-centric and multidisciplinary approach to spatial organization. It is the explicit way in which information is layered into the built environment so that a visitor can get from point A to point B with as little effort as possible. You want the user to feel comfortable where they are, but also empower them to know where they want to go next and how to get there.
“Frankly, the best work I do is when you don’t realize that your experience has been designed at all. it feels like it’s natural; like that’s the way it should be”
- 2023 World IA Day Keynote Speaker, Experiential Designer Leah Ferguson
Wayfinding as Design
There are three elements to Wayfinding Design — cognitive & behavioral (understanding the information and how we want you to react to it), physical (what physical interactions you need in your environment), and emotional (whether you feel safe and empowered to make your way along this path).
These key elements are integral to the positive experience of wayfinding and are often intertwined. For example, when you are traveling at night, light not only helps you find your way by illuminating important informational cues, but it also allows you to feel safer when walking down a dark path.
Cognitive Maps in Wayfinding: The Five Cues
The term Wayfinding was popularized by Kevin Lynch’s book “Image of the City”. In his book, Lynch explains how we find a mental image of our urban environment. He describes a cognitive map that we make based on cues from the physical environment.
There are five specific cues he describes — landmark, edge, path, nodes, and districts. These cues develop meaningful connections in the world around us.
Cues are the visible elements in our environment that we take for granted. They often allow us to navigate a space without us realizing it. The space between desks in an office, for instance, can be a physical difference in an office that allows you to orient yourself. Districts are our neighborhoods — they are physical points of distinction. They often are the groupings and categories that naturally occur in physical spaces and communities. Edges are the natural borders that allow us to see when we have passed from one physical space to another, for instance, from a wall or a lake.
Meaningful Cues for Wayfinding a City
To explain Lynch’s theory, Ferguson uses Toronto, Canada as an example. The CN Tower is not just an internationally recognized landmark; it serves as a navigational tool for residents to see where they are in the city. The harbor (Lake Ontario) is an edge, which provides a distinction between water and land. Yonge Street is a familiar path that helps people get from point A to point B. With Toronto’s grid structure, nodes become helpful landmarks in their own right. Toronto is also built through a system of neighborhoods, known as districts, helping to identify unique spaces in the urban sprawl.
Wayfinding for Smaller Environments
The five cues are also used in navigating smaller environments. In Calgary International Airport, the signage acts as one element of wayfinding support for users in confirming where they are. Architectural features act as districts, landmarks, edges, nodes, and paths to support navigation between walkways, destinations, and rest areas.
Wayfinding: Where Do I Begin?
Wayfinding is a way of putting people first in environmental design, prioritizing their needs by analyzing their journeys through different perspectives. We begin by collecting data on the environment being built, and understanding who our users are.
Some questions to consider:
- What is the context and need for this environment?
- How does the intended user enter the space?
- What kind of services and destinations are they looking for in this environment?
Mapping out the Experience
While there are typical practices across wayfinding, there are differences in how we need to relay information. We use a combination of journey mapping and flow diagrams to help understand the user’s journey through the environment.
Critical Decision Points
By layering this information, we can then start to uncover where the critical decision points are — the points of the journey where the user will need an additional layer of information to help inform their choices. This information can be achieved through architectural interventions, the use of graphics and murals, or strategically applied signage. Understanding the user’s journey helps us to understand what information to deliver and at what point.
Wayfinding Principles: The Three C’s
In wayfinding design, we follow three core principles to properly design the amount of information being shared in a way that intuitively makes sense. We call these principles “The Three C’s”: connectivity, continuity, and consistency.
- Connectivity: Does the wayfinding system deliver the right message at the right location at the right time? This relates to critical decision points.
- Continuity: Does the wayfinding system provide continuity as people navigate from one space to another? This can often be found in breadcrumbing.
- Consistency: Does the wayfinding system consistently communicate the right amount of information throughout the journey?
Logical Wayfinding Assets
Many parts of wayfinding allow for a well-designed experience. These include brand identity (image), visual vocabulary (typefaces, colors, materials, and finishes), naming strategy (rooms, departments, levels, stairs, and elevators), wayfinding strategy (signs, screens, and artwork), numbering scheme (building letter, room numbering, and suite lettering), symbols and icons (international conventions), color codes (wayfinding restrictions, hazards, and warnings), and personalized messages (instructions and temporal communications).
Accessibility in Wayfinding Design
It is important to use research to ensure signage and information are accessible to users. This includes keeping in mind the visibility of fonts, the distance of the user to the signage, and color choices in design.
Wayfinding and You
The goal of wayfinding is to develop a navigational system that feels intuitive to a user. It helps individuals to learn the space, so they are not focused on a sign but on an experience. Next time you are exploring a new space, take a moment to notice the layers that help you navigate your experience.
What has been designed into your wayfinding experience?
Q&A with Leah Ferguson
Note: The following is a paraphrased version of the question and answer sessions that took place after the keynote with Leah Ferguson. The Q&A sessions were moderated by Gianmarco Caruso, Jennifer Mazza Cagliuso, Monica Caraway, and Marcela Gonzalez. Technical support was provided by Grace Lau, Andrew Jung, and Caroline Craner.
Q: How did you get your start as an Experiential Designer?
A: I got into this field by accident. I originally went to school to be trained as a graphic designer, and my focus was designing packing for physical products. On the side, I was taking courses in both urban design and the urban environment. I had one course which was focused on information design in the urban environment, which has since led to the Experience Design Program at Sheridan College in Ontario, Canada. I had a professor approach me for a position in experiential design, and within 6 months, I had fallen in love with the field.
Q: How do you go about planning for total proximity for a user?
A: As you are planning, you have to think about the levels of information. It is all about hierarchy. So how do you design for something where you need to turn around? Sometimes it is taking that contextual look and understanding how the information gets presented. This means understanding not just what the sign is, but where the sign is placed can give context and information.
Q: How difficult is it to make changes in your work within physical spaces? For instance, when you are changing the signage in a crowded area, how do you account for the scheduling or interruptions of the system?
A: It depends on the project. You can spend years planning what that temporary situation is going to be, or you can design the system for more flexibility. As much as we try to use more sustainable materials, sometimes it is a matter of simply putting temporary vinyl lettering up while we wait for a more permanent solution. With that said, sometimes the most helpful information you can get as a designer is the temporary signage that a non-designer has put up due to a gap in the system. This type of signage allows you to see the pain points of the system that users are facing regularly.
Q: Can you describe the interaction between architects and experience designers, specifically when it comes to color or branding?
A: It is a constant dialogue and negotiation to make sure that a product not only reflects the brand but also supports the end users’ experience. Every project will be different. In an office, a beautiful mural is a landmark, but you also need the extra layer of information. You often will also need signs that explicitly tell you where to go. For a sports station, which tends to be a louder environment, you may want the wayfinding system to be more subtle. In a more sterile office, you may want the colors and signage to stand out more. It depends on the strategy for accessibility. Design in general is never just one thing. Everything has to be taken into account, and so we need these different perspectives to make a successful navigational system.
Q: How would you compare designing digital experiences versus designing wayfinding in a physical space?
A: There are many similarities between designing for website design and designing for physical spaces when it comes to wayfinding. The only difference is that we are building physical products and physical space. There is still a common theme of testing, information architecture, and design.
Q: I am curious about how you go about collecting research. Do you rely on stakeholders to hand off what they know?
A: It is always an interdisciplinary approach, but we are often reliant on the research and information that a stakeholder has. Sometimes this also includes observational studies, where you observe how people interact with a map or a space to see what the gaps are. You play the role of a design detective and see what the issues are within an environment. The specific approach always depends on the project, but the good ones allow you to jump into the project and do the research you need to best understand the user and how they navigate a space successfully.
One of my favorite things about being an Experience Designer is getting those opportunities to go out into the field. I’ve worked on several transit projects where you have the chance to talk with frontline and staff, and quite frankly, they are often they are my favorite people to talk to. They are the people who are observing others navigating the environment, and they are using it day after day. We will go in and take our observations of the environment, but talking with others allows you to open up a whole new way of thinking.
Q: What about your research strategy for projects where you are brought in from the beginning?
A: For some of the newer projects, we are using VR to explore a virtual model of the physical space years before we have broken the ground. The use of VR in this way is fascinating, and I have found that the more senses that you can bring into the research, the better. Often what we are doing is understanding not only the signs that are placed, but the journey of the user to better understand all of the signs that we will not place in the environment. Many of these larger structures have so many moving parts; it can bring up challenges in the research phase. For these projects, we often bring users in for testing for specific parts, but not the full space as we are limited to the constraints of the project.
Q: What is the proportion of quantitative and qualitative analysis for wayfinding research?
A: As with most research in our field, it depends on the project. There is often field research that allows for both modalities. When it comes to larger physical projects that are not yet built, we often use modeling — which can incorporate both types of research.
Q: How do you gather input and research for these public spaces, and how do you adapt to their usage?
A: Nothing is ever finished when it comes to research for these projects — particularly when it comes to physical environments. If people have bad experiences, they will let you know. Because of that, it is important to create spaces where you can listen to their suggestions, and implement new changes down the line. Over time, you see the breaks in the system that need adjustment. As owners of environments and designers of environments, we need time for both pre-planning and post-analysis so that we can make changes that make a positive difference.
Q: In digital design, we use heat maps and user testing applications. For your research, how do you monitor the flow and behavior of people in physical spaces?
A: Sometimes it means going out in the field and observing users in person. Sometimes it is tracking people’s movements through various trackable entrances and exits. By building more context for their interactions, you can build and define different metrics in the system. Heat maps are often used to help identify where the eye is moving in a physical space to clarify the needs in appropriate signage that will provide the most usability.
Q: What is your advice on finding globally accessible style guides?
A: That is a great question. The reality is that the meaning of iconography and language is always changing. Our interpretation of them will vary depending on our historical, cultural, and geographical context. In a recent project, the two icons for gender were brought up as an example. While the two icons used to be used widely, it is now 2023 and we are now rethinking our relationship to those icons as the definition of gender is expanding culturally. In the English-speaking world alone, we have many different words for bathroom — for example, the loo or washroom. The icons for a bathroom vary, as not every culture uses a seated toilet. Certain conventions are agreed upon, but there will always be a need for testing. We come with our preconceived notions of what an icon means, and we need to make sure that the symbols communicate what we want them to.
Q: We have already talked about wayfinding and AR/XR, but many digital spaces are already using wayfinding techniques. What you do feel the relationship is between video game design and what you do?
A: The two disciplines are very related. My go-to series is Assassin’s Creed. In the most recent versions, the setting is a big, open world often taking place in historical settings with whatever signage would have been available at the time. This involves complex intentionality in designing spaces that are unique and give the users the visual cues that are needed to move around. If every street looks the same, the players will have a difficult time placing where they are. Many of the people in my industry find a huge alignment between the two. They both involve clear goals, route planning, and intentional cues that are built in to support the completion of those goals.
Q: In User Experience Design with games, there is an intentionality in scaling the difficulty of an experience to match the needs of the user. Does this at all play into Wayfinding Design?
A: While there is no real way to scale experiences in a physical space to match each person’s needs, you do need to think about the different types of experiences people can have. With video game design, there is more control. In the real world, there is chaos. There can be a sign that can be destroyed or key visual cues that are removed like an arrow in a sign. These are things that we have to think about and plan for constantly as we design physical spaces.
Q: How would you apply wayfinding in your own life? How can we use these principles to enhance our own life experiences?
A: I have been getting really into something called personal knowledge management. It involves developing a system of note-taking that makes sense for you and your specific needs. I use an application called Obsidian for creating daily notes. The cues you need to navigate the information you need often mirror the ones needed in wayfinding practices. These cues, such as a dot or a new paragraph, allow you to go back and navigate the information effectively. Journaling can be a way of wayfinding. Reviewing information in your history using the cues on the page is a way of creating systems that allow you to find the information you are looking for.
Q: I noticed that you were a part of the development of Obsidian, the note-taking application. What are the similarities you see between walking through a physical space and navigating through documents?
A: There are many similarities. Many of the cues from Kevin Lynch’s work on cognitive maps apply to note-taking. If you look at the Obsidian site, one thing they talk a lot about is the visualization of information. You will start to see how clusters of information work similarly to districts, for instance. Both are layered approaches to information that allow you to see information in a new way.
When I am building notes, I like to see how today’s notes relate to yesterday’s and the day before. I find it is very similar to Wayfinding. What is the date? Who are the key people I am talking to? What are the big things I am working on? You can look at it from a planning perspective, and set yourself up for where you would be traveling through that information.
Q: What is a recent wayfinding experience you found amazing?
A: I am currently visiting Kansas City, but I am from Toronto. As I was traveling, I realized that I was doing exactly what this talk is about — wayfinding in a new environment. This is my first big travel experience after the pandemic, and I enjoyed seeing how frictionless it was in going from one place to the next.
Q: Are there any frustrating wayfinding examples that you commonly see?
A: Grocery stores annoy me. While they are great when you are familiar with a particular store, the signage is often so varied from store to store they can be difficult to navigate. The signs are also often angled in a way that can cause confusion for users. I think there is a huge opportunity for developing more positive wayfinding in retail experiences, in general.
Q: How much involvement do Experiential Designers have with urban planning right now?
A: Challenges with city planning need to be met with an interdisciplinary approach. Experience design is communication design: it is understanding needs. We need to be involved. From my experience in the field, we are increasingly becoming involved. I am personally very excited about the innovations we are going to be able to do by continuing to work together in the future.
Q: What are some of the big changes you are seeing in the field? We anticipate that XR and digital realities will continue to merge with physical spaces. What do you think about this?
A: Digital interfaces are becoming more commonplace in physical spaces allowing for more fluidity between digital design and physical design. It’s all about designing with intention. If you are integrating digital, sometimes you want it to be a show-stopping moment, but sometimes you just want it to be simple and subtle. While I am excited about the growth of digital experiences in the physical world, I am also cautious. With the design, you have to think about the highs and lows of an experience. What happens when the power goes out? What happens when a user does not have access to their own devices? These are socio-cultural and economic implications worth considering. There are also different risks involved depending on the needs and environment. An example I use often is from “The Office” when Michael Scott is using a GPS for directions in a car. While the GPS tells him to turn right, there is a mistake and we see the device is directing him into a lake. He doesn’t question it and drives right in. I see that as a cautionary tale for technology. While these tools are helpful, you still need to take a step back to allow for critical thinking and options if the technology fails.
Q: How do you think urban planning and wayfinding may change or inform each other as practices in the future?
A: I think a lot about driverless cars and how they are designed to take you to your destination with the most efficient route in mind. As they grow in use, this may result in less need for more physical wayfinding for drivers in the future and create a shift towards cities that are designed to meet the needs of users who are walking more.
With driverless cars, I do think that it is going to change how much information is going to be available for wayfinding as a driver. If our vehicles can navigate an environment without build in signage, that is going to free up a lot of our infrastructure. But I am also not an optimist because sometimes things go bad. Sometimes you will need to take control and find ways of doing static wayfinding. We have all gone somewhere and seen the “blue screen of death” where there should have been a menu board or transit screen. You need to be able to plan for when things go wrong. I can’t wait until we start to work on what our cities will look like when driverless cars have grown enough in use to shift the infrastructure, but these are things we need to think about.
Q: How might Wayfinding and technology inform each other in the future?
A: With more technology built into our day-to-day experience, there will be additional layers of mapping that give you more of a personalized wayfinding experience. The needs that we have will always shift, but our wayfinding practices will continue to evolve to reflect that.
Q: What would you recommend to people who are interested in learning more about wayfinding?
A: Often people focus on the visuals with design instead of thinking about how it can support users in mapping out an environment. 99 Percent Invisible is a podcast that I recommend to anyone interested in this work, in that it explores the idea that most of what goes into a design is below the surface. With wayfinding in particular, people often will see only one sign, but not see the many choices, design decisions, and research that resulted in the placement of the sign. I also recommend HOK’s Wayfinding Primer as a helpful resource.
Once you start to learn about wayfinding, take time to immerse your lived environment. Take the time the think about the environment and how you are feeling in a space. Observe the positive — and negative experiences — and ask yourself what you would do differently.
About Leah Ferguson
Leah Ferguson is an experiential graphic designer, specializing in wayfinding and user experience in the digital and built environment. She brings a combination of research, strategy, and information architecture to her practice to help people find their way. Through her work, she is an advocate for accessible and inclusive spaces and believes that if she’s done her job right, the experience should feel intuitive. Finding one’s way through space is not accomplished through signage alone.
Leah has worked in international airports across the world including San Francisco, Toronto, Calgary, and the Jewel at Singapore Changi Airport. She has worked with a diverse group of clients including IBM, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Uber, and Metrolinx. Currently, she is a senior designer at HOK in Toronto, creating integrated experiences in the built environment.
