Good wayfinding goes unnoticed. Customers only notice it when it is missing: when they circle the parking lot, open the wrong door or ask three people where suite 210 is.
Customer wayfinding is the set of signs that takes a visitor from the street to the exact place they came for. Gogi Signs plans and builds these systems for plazas, medical offices, schools and office buildings across New Jersey and New York City. This guide shows how to plan one from the start, using the same principles found in federal wayfinding standards.
In this guide
What Wayfinding Actually Means
The Society for Experiential Graphic Design describes wayfinding as information systems that guide people through a physical environment, as quoted in the Defense Health Agency’s wayfinding standards. Signs are the biggest part of that system, but names, room numbers, maps, lighting and landmarks all play a role.
Most wayfinding systems are built from these four sign families
Most systems combine identification, directional, informational and regulatory signs into what HOK, a large architecture firm, calls a sign family in its wayfinding primer. Each family has a job, and each one should look the same everywhere it appears.
Why Plan Wayfinding Early
Signs are often the last thing ordered on a project. The AIA warns that leaving signage late can affect both the design and how the building works, and it recommends addressing signage in early design, in its best practices guide. The same guide suggests that 5 to 7 percent of the buildout cost is a realistic budget for signage design and construction. Plan early and you can put power where lit signs go, add blocking in walls and pick names before they are printed on leases and websites.
What Confusion Costs
Sources: Zimring 1990, as cited by the University of Salford; AIA
The best known number comes from a hospital. A 1990 Georgia Tech study of Emory University’s hospital found that giving directions to lost visitors cost more than $220,000 a year, about 4,500 staff hours or two full time positions, as reported by the University of Salford. Your plaza or office is smaller, but the pattern is the same. Every lost visitor costs your staff time and starts the visit on the wrong foot.
The route starts outside, at the street and the parking lot
Walk the Route Like a First Time Visitor
Start outside, ideally with someone who has never been to the property. Drive in from each main road, park, walk to the entrance and find a specific suite. Note every place where they slow down, stop or guess. Those are your decision points.
Repeat the walk after dark and in bad weather. A route that is obvious on a sunny afternoon can be confusing at night. Our guide on exterior sign placement covers the outside part of the route.
Plan From Big to Small
Each step answers one question
Federal standards organize wayfinding in a macro to micro order: site, then building, then floor, then room, according to the Defense Health Agency. In practice:
- Street and parking. Can a driver find the entrance and the right lot?
- Building entrance. Is the door customers should use clearly marked?
- Lobby. Is there a directory, and does it list names the way customers know them?
- Floor or corridor. Do signs at the elevator and each turn confirm the way?
- Suite or room. Is the final door clearly marked?
Match the Sign to the Decision Point
Keep each sign focused on the decision made at that spot. The VA’s signage design guide puts it simply: on directional signs, do not anticipate decisions that can be made later, and put the most important message on the first line. A sign at the entrance drive should list only the routes that split there, not every tenant.
List destinations in the words customers use
Name Destinations the Same Way Everywhere
Visitors follow words. The VA guide says to always use the same words, names or titles throughout the sign program. If the appointment reminder says Suite 210, the directory, the elevator lobby sign and the door must all say Suite 210, not Second Floor East. Agree on a short list of destination names before anything is designed, and use the same list for the website and directions.
- Short wording. A few words per line, read at a glance.
- Clear arrows. One arrow style used the same way on every sign.
- Strong contrast. Light text on dark or dark text on light.
- Consistent position. The same height and side of the path, so people know where to look.
- The right size. Letter height depends on reading distance. See our guide on sizing letters for viewing distance.
Pixel Wraps, our sister graphics shop, applies the same rules to moving vehicles in how to design vehicle graphics people can read in traffic.
Overhead signs can be read from across a busy floor
Use Landmarks and Color
People remember places, not just words. HOK notes that landmarks create bold first impressions and that color can act as a beacon for an area, in its wayfinding primer. A bright entrance canopy, a mural near the elevators or a colored wall at each wing gives visitors something to steer by. Pair color with names and numbers, since not everyone sees color the same way.
Light the Route
Many visits happen after dark, especially in winter. Make sure the main entrance sign, the parking lot signs and the building number are lit or reflective. Inside, place directories and directional signs where the ceiling lights fall on them, not in dim corners. A sign no one can see is the same as no sign at all.
Choose One Owner for the System
Sign systems drift when anyone can add a sign. Pick one person to approve new signs and keep a master list of every sign, its location and its wording. The AIA also suggests one facility contact and a master signage standards manual for larger properties.
Include the Accessibility Rules
Under the 2010 ADA Standards, signs that identify permanent rooms, such as restrooms and suite doors, need raised characters and braille, while directional and informational signs need to meet the visual rules only, according to the Access Board guide. In New York City, the building code also requires directional signs to the nearest accessible element, such as an accessible entrance, using the dynamic accessibility symbol, according to the Department of Buildings. Our guide to ADA sign requirements covers the details.
Plan for Changes
Tenants move, suites are renumbered and practices rename themselves. Federal standards call for sign systems that let you change occupant names with minimal cost, according to the Defense Health Agency. Directories with slide out inserts, modular panels and vinyl names on a permanent backer make updates simple. See our directory signs.
Do Not Forget the Way Out
Visitors leaving a suite need to find the elevator, the exit and the parking lot again. Signs placed only for the inbound route leave people guessing on the way out. Walk the route in both directions before you finalize the plan. Our sister company in New York covers more building types in its wayfinding signs guide.
Common Questions About Customer Wayfinding
What is customer wayfinding?
It is the system of signs, names and maps that guides a visitor from the street to the place they came for, and back out again.
How do I plan wayfinding signs?
Walk the route as a first time visitor, mark every decision point, agree on destination names and place one clear sign at each decision point, from the street down to the room.
How many wayfinding signs does a property need?
Enough for every decision point and no more. A walk through usually shows where people hesitate. Fewer, better placed signs work better than many small ones.
How much should wayfinding signs cost?
It depends on the building. AIA guidance suggests 5 to 7 percent of the buildout cost is a realistic budget for signage design and construction on a new project.
Do wayfinding signs need braille?
Signs that identify permanent rooms do. Directional and informational signs need to meet the ADA visual rules but do not need braille.
How do I test a wayfinding plan?
Ask someone who has never visited to find a specific suite while you watch. Note where they hesitate, then fix those points before ordering every sign.
Wayfinding Planned From the Street In
We survey the route, plan the sign family and build every piece. See our wayfinding signs, then request a free quote.
Sources and further reading
- Defense Health Agency: wayfinding guidelines and signage standards
- HOK: wayfinding primer
- AIA best practices: wayfinding signage
- University of Salford: wayfinding in hospital environments
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: signage design guide, parking structures
- U.S. Access Board: guide to the ADA standards, chapter 7 signs
- NYC Department of Buildings: 2022 Building Code accessibility
- Signs NY: wayfinding signs for NYC buildings
