Street and city
Wayfinding signage
street plaza park terminal public building
A set of signs, maps, pictograms and markers that help people find their way in the city or in a building.
What it solves
It tells you where you are, where to go and when you have arrived. Well designed, it also serves those who do not read the language or do not see well.
Today
Use clear pictograms, good contrast, large lettering and a comfortable reading height, with raised characters or braille where it can be touched. Place signs at every decision point along the route.
Common mistake
Filling the street with signs that compete with each other or placing them where vegetation or cars hide them.
Tomorrow
Physical signs can be complemented with audible announcements and raised features for blind people. Signs at a child’s eye level with clear pictograms help those who cannot yet read to find their way.
Where it comes from
- 1Rome road network of the empire, Antiquity
Milestones marked the roads, and the Golden Milestone in Rome marked the center of the empire. - 2Sur Sultanate India, 16th century
Sher Shah Suri raised the kos minar, pillars that marked distances for the convenience of travelers. - 3Modern urbanism United States, 1960
Kevin Lynch used the idea of wayfinding in The Image of the City, and it was later extended with tactile and audible signs.
Masters
- Lance Wyman Mexico City Metro signage, Mexico City, Mexico, 1969
He designed a pictogram for each station so that anyone could find their way even if they could not read the name. His system influenced designers around the world. - Kevin Lynch The Image of the City, United States, 1960
He showed that we find our way by paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks. His idea of the legible city is the basis of all good signage.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Street and city
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.