Wayfinding is one of those words you've gotta love for describing just what it does: it helps you find your way. What exactly is wayfinding? The simple definition: wayfinding is directional signage or messaging that helps you navigate to a destination. Wayfinding can also brand locations at the same time as getting you there.
Nowadays many of us rely on GPS to find our way. That's great for outdoors, but what happens when we're inside large or complicated buildings where we need more specific direction? That's often when simple (non-digital) wayfinding does the trick to get you where you need to go. Think Hospitals, Museums, Large Corporate Buildings, Large Events, and Building Renovation or Construction Sites. Without simple wayfinding in these environments many of us would still be wandering or lost.
One example of quick-reference wayfinding is the sign pictured above for PureStorage. Using this functional sign, once inside the building, people can easily locate the IT Help Desk. Another example of an artistic wayfinding sign is the one above at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). This sign quickly tells museum-goers which floor to go to for the Magritte Exhibit. Plus it gives people a taste of the art to come, and is easily recognizable by including the graphics of Magritte's trademark bowler hat.
While navigational help is key to wayfinding, these displays are also great for branding a location or space at the same time. Wayfinding can extend brand identity and visibility to a physical space for just about anything. This can be done using creative text alone or combining it with memorable graphics. For example, take a look below at how Zume Foods branded their rooms with clever text-names associating their food product to popular singers. This is a fun way to reinforce product or brand identity by assigning it a physical space with it's own memorable wayfinding signs.
Another creative use of wayfinding for branding, as well as for privacy glass, is shown in the photos below of Zumper conference rooms. Zumper is an apartment/house search app so their city graphics are perfect for both brand identity and simple navigation to the right conference room.
BarkerBlue created and installed all these wayfinding graphics, along with multiple others, including temporary-event wayfinding. We can help with display graphics of all kinds. See our portfolio for other examples of our work, and see What We Do to learn more about the variety of display graphics we offer.
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