Way-Finding ideas

Initial ideas (sketchbook)

(Going to apologise in advance for the bad handwriting on these sketchbook pages in advance)

Starting of , I wanted to gain a rough idea of some iconic movie characters. to do this, i went around and asked both peers on the course and people back at the flat to name a movie character. with this, the characters i got were: Buzz Light-year, Godzilla, Friday 13th Jason, Iron Man, Wolverine, Forest Gump, Jaws, Alien Predator, Dracula, ect. with these characters, the idea was to create a way-finding system around them. Something like E4's Slackers club. But due to the nature of the cinemas these days this idea just doesn't fit in with there sleek approach.

For this one, I was looking into trying to use different techniques on the already in place way finding they use for their screen numbers. At the moment, the just use back lit metal numbers in the cineworld font, VAG-Rounded. these where drawn up with the intention of having them placed on plains of glass above the screens doors. i also though about creating symbols for the films that were playing but after thinking about it, its be too much to do for the amount of films there are.

these ones are more, out there ideas. one of the ideas was based around the robots santander has for its home base in Madrid that guide people to there destination. while the other was aimed to have the screens doors open for you so you could see where to go when giving your ticket in. Unfortunately, if some people turned up late for the film then there is the problem of the doors opening and closing during the film which would cause the film goer's watching the movie to get annoyed.

the idea of this one was to make the walk to the films screen feel like walking on the red carpet buy having lights light up that will lead towards your screening. Started with basic party lights you would find in marquees as starters. while it would look welcoming, it doesn't fit in with the modern, slick theme that cineworld is going for in its new interiors. To work around it, the lights could be within the walls or even back light a sheet of metal with small holes in it.

These ones I did like the idea of. The concept started by having small bollard like items outside the doors of each screen that would light up once you gave your ticket to the ticket collector to show where to head to. But thinking about it, instead of installing these 'light up bollards' outside of every screen, why not use what's already there. Outside every screen is two sets of bins that are just sitting there. The idea to use these would to either have a screen on each of the bins faces or have a light light up insides of them to show people where to go.

Not gonna lie, I was playing the game portal with a friend of mine before sketching this one down. This one is based on the simplistic information boards within the game (example on the left). Its super simple design and easy to understand pictogram s would work well for the film. Each screen would have one outside and would have information such as what film it was, its poster, rating, its warnings ect. all of it would be cineworld's typeface and would be vinyl on a back lit piece of plastic.

This one isn't very interesting. its just a map of which screen it is on the reverse of the ticket. But thinking about it, once you get past the ticket collector guy, most people put the ticket in the pocket or bin it.  

Again, this one is more of the, 'out there' ideas. the aim is to replace the typical paper tickets and it would be able to direct you to both the screen and your seat number. I didn't focus too much on this one but from a rough concept, it would vibrate // light up more as you were heading it the right way. once at your seat, you would plug it into the arm of your chair so there would be no problem of getting the wrong seat

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Now, out of these ideas, this one stood out to me. While seeing that cineworld was going more modern with its interiors, they have used more digital monitors and projectors around the interiors. With these becoming the norm with in these cinemas, these would be a great way to create a way-finding system. At the moment, these screens are used to display film posters. With this being a cinema, the idea was to use clips from films of people pointing in certain directions to direct people to their screens. With these screens they will change the from the posters that are already on them to the short clip of movie characters 'pointing' the people towards their movie screen. 

Crit group

After talking to peers in crit groups, the two ideas that everyone seem to like was the screen idea as it could be made to be interactive for people were they could try and see if they can scan each pointing movie clip. The other was the bin idea but they said that if it was done, maybe combine it with the pointing idea.

Way-finding study task

Way-Finding Research (Primary)

We've been tasked to Identify, document and record examples of way-finding, signage and pictograms in use in certain environments around leeds.

How are these designs used to enhance the experience of a user and how are they used to navigate and directed people around spaces?

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These signs are all over Leeds directing people to certain points of interests such as landmarks and visitor centre. They work very well as the signs are very simple showing little but important information to the user such as what place their heading to and how long it will take to get there on foot. Great for students.

Again, these maps that are scattered across Leeds and

other city's across the UK have been created to show people who are new to the area around. While more complicated that the blue signs, its needed to to show the users both where they are and how to get to their destination. It utilises the same 'how long it'll take to walk' ideal like the blue sign but in a cleaver way. On the map it'll show your location and around that is a large red circle which states how long it'll take to walk to a location in this area. this allows people to quickly decide on the spot where they want to go.

      

        

  

     

    


All of these way finding systems around Trinity have all got a overarching theme to them. Each one is focusing in getting information to the user as fast as possible, that can be with the flashy appeal of the system, the fact that the info is condensed and quick to read, and, while each one has a different look and feel to them, each one is legible to the point you only have to glance at most of them to get an idea of where you are going. this is a must for a chopping centre like trinity as it gets crazy busy which means stopping can be hard.

Way-Finding

Way finding research

Gourdin-Mueller Signage link (These designs from Gourdin Mueller use a lot of vinyl designs to it which look engaging for people using the system. these seem to be the type of way-finding found in the likes of university or other modern buildings to make them look cool and trendy)

Interactive, Digital way finding system that allows a wide range of information to be accessed by the user. this allows the user to choose what they waht to see. while its a great concept, the fact somebody has to stop, search for where there going, and then carry on might be too time consuming for the busy life style people have now days.

Screens used to direct people around the museum

An interactive Way-Finding system it a skyscraper that allows you to search for your destination and tells you how to get there

Again, a digital wayfinding system thats interactive to allow the user to search where he/she is going

Way-Finding location

Chosen Location

after speaking with my peers about choosing locations, there was a majority of people choosing to create their way-finding system for the college of art. At first i was toying with creating my system for Tropical World, a local tourist attraction and home of the largest collection of tropical plants outside of Kew Gardens. But after speaking to individuals i decided to leave Tropical World and create my way-finding system for an area of leisure and chose Cineworld.

Looking in to cineworld, the have been hiring 'Swindon Interior' to build and fit the new interiors. Swindon have also worked on cinemas such as Odeon, Everyman ect to create modern, slick interiors for most modern cinemas. With these new interiors becoming more of the norm using projectors, monitors and sleek work tops i think that for my approach to this will have to be equally as modern.

Website (Link)

Examples:

Colour schemes // Font

Keeping with the given guidelines of the company, I'm going to use their given colour scheme and type face which is 'VAG Rounded'.

Way-finding what it is

What is way-finding?

while looking around to find the different approaches to way finding I came across a company names SEGD who, according to their website are 'an association that create content-rich, emotionally compelling, experiential spaces for a wide range of environments, from hospitals and transit hubs to museums and educational campuses'. 

Their views on creating a way finding system are to make sure that it particularly important in complex build environments such as healthcare centres, urban buildings, educational campuses and Transportation facilities. As architectural environments become more complicated, people have to have visual cues such as maps, directions, and symbols to help guide them to their destinations. In these often high-stress environments, effective way finding systems contribute to a sense of well-being, safety, and security.

To a designer, when creating a way-finding system it has to inform the people of their surroundings when in a unfamiliar place. A key aspect to this is to show information of points of importance to guide people in the right directions. the human mind will store information such as distances, time and locations differently than they would do in reality. To create an effective way-finding system is to base it on these human behaviours taking into account the following points:

• Do not make them think
• Show only what is needed
• Remove excessive information
• show the information that is relevant to the location 
• create it to be clear and legible

and finally Way-finding can be defined as spatial problem solving in areas such as signs, maps, and other graphic or audible methods used to convey location and directions to travellers.

Resources

Websites

• SEGD: What is Way-finding (link)
• Introduction to Way-finding (link) 

Books:

• The wayfinding handbook: information design for public places (PDF)
• Wayfinding in Architecture (PDF)

Brief 01: Design Process - Way-Finding

Way-finding

First studio brief for our new module. We've been tasked to create a way-finding // navigational system for environment of our choosing (Just from talking to some peers, creating the way finding for the college seems to be the main choice). To do this, we will have to utilise our developing understanding of visual communication and typography to create a way finding system that will be both legible and create an experience for the users. 

Ted Talk: Aris Venetikidis making sense of maps

This Ted talk is by Map designer Aris Venetikidis. He's fascinated by the maps we draw up within our minds as we move around a area to create mental schematics or wiring diagrams of these places. The aim of the Ted talk is to find out how we can learn from these mental maps we think up to make better real ones? While this is more for map making, it has a great way of benefiting the area of way-finding as he talks about aspects that are needed to be able for his maps to become legible and easy to understand by the reader which is needed from each maps and way finding.

Pictograms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHWlEU8zqUE