Wayfinding signage plays a key role in keeping your customers happy
For race directors willing to get into the weeds on directional signage, The New York Times recently published a terrific piece: “Lost in Penn Station? Amtrak Has an App to Guide You.”
The topic is “wayfinding”, the term industry professionals use for pointing people in the right direction, primarily via signage. The key take-away is the importance of keeping your customer (participant) in mind; that what’s lurking around every turn is confusion, not clarity.
Race directors deal with the need for wayfinding all the time, whether they know and use that particular term or not. We’ve all heard the horror stories: unclear directions at intersections resulting in entire fields of runners heading in the wrong direction; missing signage and/or volunteers at turnaround points; angry swarms of pissed-off athletes at locked doors of convention centers.
While race signage performs several functions, its primary mission is to inform. Much of that information is wayfinding: Where is registration? Where do I leave my bag? Where’s the damn beer?
Notwithstanding the fact that some participants seem hell-bent to get lost no matter what you do, consider Signage Nerd Rule #1 for Wayfinding:
If They Have to Ask, You’ve Failed.
More specifically, here are five points to consider when it comes to moving sweaty, tunnel-visioned athletes from place to place:
- Height is good. Don’t design your signs for an empty parking lot; think about what things are like swarming with 5,000 bodies
- Size matters. Use arrows and bold type. Big Very bold type.
- Simple is better. Use basic designs, bold, contrasting colors. Wayfinding signage should not blend in; it should violate the visual space and demand to be seen.
- People are best. If you can put a sign in the hand of an informed volunteer, do it. No matter how good they are, signs are passive media; people can be active — up to and including running down and corralling a stray.
- Get with the flow. Directional signage should be in the way. Place signs prominently, even invasively.
- Consistency counts. Whenever possible, use the same design format (colors, typeface, etc.) for all signs in a specific wayfinding category: registration, post-race, etc.
- Don’t skimp. When in doubt, add more signs. Don’t leave your participants wandering around in unmarked spaces. See Signage Nerd Wayfinding Rule #1.
And be sure to check out that NYT piece. It’s a good read. Here’s a {LINK}
Until next time. Be well — MP
