A guide to new normal wayfinding
Social distancing is quickly becoming the new normal. Whether or not we will ever return to pre-pandemic times is uncertain but we know this much is true: we cannot live in a constant state of emergency. So the question is: how do we incorporate social distancing into our way of life? What will the world look like five years from now?
Reading time:
Social distancing! Two simple words that have put our entire human existence on the line. If there is a silver lining to social distancing and the pandemic that caused it, it is simply that it is has made all of us - even the introverts, the cynics, the anti-social - realise that life is hardly worth living without contact with other people. We don’t go to the cinema just to see a movie, we go there to see a movie with other people!
We at Urgent.Agency are curious and dedicated to updating all wayfinding to a new normal that is just as empathetic and encouraging as it is efficient! We have currently identified 5 areas that need urgent re-thinking as we continue to adapt to the new normal of wayfinding.
Learning
Unnatural behaviour is being required from children. Making it fun is a good strategy.
Wayfinding is all about understanding user behaviour, and when it comes to children it seems more important than ever.
Children are not programmed for social distancing. They are tuned in to physical exploration and play!
Why not embrace a sense of play?
By nudging and encouraging a certain type of behaviour in a welcoming and friendly manner, your communication will resonate with children in a more intuitive and efficient way.
Healthcare
The average patient is expected to take notice and understand all signage. Tone of voice and illustrations have never been more important.
The threat of Covid-19 is evident in the healthcare system. The need for clear and unambigious communication is massive but so is the need to feel reassured and in capable hands.
By creating visual, verbal and spatial communication that is perfectly aligned, the users as well as healthcare workers may go about their day with a sense of control and order.
Office Landscapes
The open office landscape presents a clear paradox. Designed for sharing - now at a distance.
The open office landscape has conquered the workplace. With the purpose of optimising transparency, co-learning, creativity and togetherness, the open offices must now find a way to combine all of that with the act of social distancing. But how exactly?
In order to invent new patterns of behaviour, the office landscape must find a way to nudge employees in an intuitive and positive way while rethinking the scale and distances of the workspace.
Hospitality, culture and tourism
Over-crowding has long been a problem for the museum user experience. Now it may even become permanently illegal.
Combining tourist attractions, cultural institutions and hotels with social distancing will require a great amount of rethinking! How do we control the movement and flow of people? How do we make sure that the users still have a great experience and that Covid-19 is not first and foremost on their minds?
By understanding the user and observing the flow of movement and interaction, a museum, for instance, will be able to control and guide their users. There will be a need to replace certain functions with online services while maintaining and enhancing a purely analogue experience.
Public spaces
Even the clearest of instructions will be ignored if they are not desirable.
Wayfinding is the primary solution for efficient crowd control. But however clear the communication, chances are that not all will comply or even notice your signage.
If you need to change the flow and movement of people passing through areas they have passed through many times before, you will have to combine your wayfinding with physical and spatial communication.
Nudging, blocking, re-directing, warning off or just communicating an important piece of information requires a great amount of intrusiveness and volume - but the city is also a shared cultural space that must show consideration for all citizens, infrastructure and historic architecture.
There is no easy fix for any of the above mentioned sectors. It is an equation with many unknowns but the way forward for wayfinding is to keep doing the work - analysing the needs of the users, understanding the bigger picture, remaining empathetic, and designing solutions that are not only functional but inviting and interesting as well.
We all prefer socialising to distancing and we at Urgent.Agency want to help the public and private sectors design their way out of the crisis and into a better new normal.
A guide to new normal wayfinding
Social distancing is quickly becoming the new normal. Whether or not we will ever return to pre-pandemic times is uncertain but we know this much is true: we cannot live in a constant state of emergency. So the question is: how do we incorporate social distancing into our way of life? What will the world look like five years from now?
Reading time:
Social distancing! Two simple words that have put our entire human existence on the line. If there is a silver lining to social distancing and the pandemic that caused it, it is simply that it is has made all of us - even the introverts, the cynics, the anti-social - realise that life is hardly worth living without contact with other people. We don’t go to the cinema just to see a movie, we go there to see a movie with other people!
We at Urgent.Agency are curious and dedicated to updating all wayfinding to a new normal that is just as empathetic and encouraging as it is efficient! We have currently identified 5 areas that need urgent re-thinking as we continue to adapt to the new normal of wayfinding.
Learning
Unnatural behaviour is being required from children. Making it fun is a good strategy.
Wayfinding is all about understanding user behaviour, and when it comes to children it seems more important than ever.
Children are not programmed for social distancing. They are tuned in to physical exploration and play!
Why not embrace a sense of play?
By nudging and encouraging a certain type of behaviour in a welcoming and friendly manner, your communication will resonate with children in a more intuitive and efficient way.
Healthcare
The average patient is expected to take notice and understand all signage. Tone of voice and illustrations have never been more important.
The threat of Covid-19 is evident in the healthcare system. The need for clear and unambigious communication is massive but so is the need to feel reassured and in capable hands.
By creating visual, verbal and spatial communication that is perfectly aligned, the users as well as healthcare workers may go about their day with a sense of control and order.
Office Landscapes
The open office landscape presents a clear paradox. Designed for sharing - now at a distance.
The open office landscape has conquered the workplace. With the purpose of optimising transparency, co-learning, creativity and togetherness, the open offices must now find a way to combine all of that with the act of social distancing. But how exactly?
In order to invent new patterns of behaviour, the office landscape must find a way to nudge employees in an intuitive and positive way while rethinking the scale and distances of the workspace.
Hospitality, culture and tourism
Over-crowding has long been a problem for the museum user experience. Now it may even become permanently illegal.
Combining tourist attractions, cultural institutions and hotels with social distancing will require a great amount of rethinking! How do we control the movement and flow of people? How do we make sure that the users still have a great experience and that Covid-19 is not first and foremost on their minds?
By understanding the user and observing the flow of movement and interaction, a museum, for instance, will be able to control and guide their users. There will be a need to replace certain functions with online services while maintaining and enhancing a purely analogue experience.
Public spaces
Even the clearest of instructions will be ignored if they are not desirable.
Wayfinding is the primary solution for efficient crowd control. But however clear the communication, chances are that not all will comply or even notice your signage.
If you need to change the flow and movement of people passing through areas they have passed through many times before, you will have to combine your wayfinding with physical and spatial communication.
Nudging, blocking, re-directing, warning off or just communicating an important piece of information requires a great amount of intrusiveness and volume - but the city is also a shared cultural space that must show consideration for all citizens, infrastructure and historic architecture.
There is no easy fix for any of the above mentioned sectors. It is an equation with many unknowns but the way forward for wayfinding is to keep doing the work - analysing the needs of the users, understanding the bigger picture, remaining empathetic, and designing solutions that are not only functional but inviting and interesting as well.
We all prefer socialising to distancing and we at Urgent.Agency want to help the public and private sectors design their way out of the crisis and into a better new normal.