Design & Placement: The Defining Elements of Successful Wayfinding Signage

This paper describes how wayfinding signage plays an essential role in the overall success of a rail authority. Not only does effective signage help create an environment where passengers feel informed and secure, but it also provides an unrestricted opportunity for the authority to create and/or maintain a defining image with its riders and the surrounding community. Essentially, wayfinding signage is the most prominent and, therefore, the most vital communication tool of any public transit system. When implementing a system-wide wayfinding signage program, there are two major elements you must consider in order to ensure that the time, effort, and dollars invested in the project result in a product that is mutually beneficial to the authority and its riders. These two elements are the design and manufacture of the signage so that it facilitates clear, concise, universal communication from the authority to its riders and the placement of the signage so that passengers can locate necessary ridership information with ease. With the proper design and placement of wayfinding signage, a rail authority is one giant step closer to providing a positive travel experience for its riders while securing a positive image of its own.