Ease Wayfinding

Supporting Wayfinding (05-24-23)

Nori and colleagues probed how design can promote effective wayfinding via a virtual reality-based project.  They report that their “results suggest that navigation could be facilitated by reducing anxiety and the spatial complexity of the environment. . . . Spatial anxiety is particularly important for navigation and reflects feelings of apprehension and fear regarding navigating an environment, orienting oneself, and performing spatial tasks.” Centrally located you-are-here maps, for example, might reduce spatial anxiety.

Blind Navigation (03-23-23)

Bredmose and colleagues studied how design can support the movement of blind and visually impaired people (BVIP) through a space.  They report that “tactile elements were assessed as being very important. . . . the visible contrast elements were assessed rather high with regard to orientation in the urban environment. . . .

Helping People Stay “On Track” (08-01-22)

Qi, Lu, and Chen’s research confirms the wayfinding-related findings of previous studies; being able to see the outdoors as we walk inside a building helps us keep track of where we are and find our way to a desired location. 

Growing Up Wayfinding (04-13-22)

Coutrot and colleagues set out to learn more about how where we grew up influences our sense of direction; what they’ve learned may help explain previously baffling programming research findings, for example.

Green Views and Wayfinding (02-25-22)

Jiang and colleagues have found, via a study using immersive virtual environment (IVE) techniques, that views of green spaces through windows can make it easier to move from one part of a building to another effectively and efficiently;  their findings are readily applicable to non-healthcare space types.

Finding Ways to Support Finding Our Way

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Humans can get lost and that’s a bad thing.  A lost human is a stressed human, one whose precious mental resources are being gobbled up by efforts to navigate from one place to another. Neuroscientists have comprehensively investigated how architecture, interior design, and signage can support agreeable, low stress journeys toward our intended destinations.
 

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