Design For Dignity
Retail Guidelines

Guidance on premises

Wayfinding principles and guidance

Wayfinding is the system of communication that allows people to navigate through their environment using their available senses. It can take the form of tactile clues (TSGIs, changes in surface texture, tactile maps), visual clues (signs, maps, changes in colour for different zones or levels), audible clues (beacon technology telling your smartphone where you are and providing direction, noise from water features, a row of restaurants or a road), architectural clues (physical barriers or distinctive pathways) or even aromatic such as food smells from a restaurant.

Wayfinding Design Guidelines (2007)^{*Apelt, R. and Crawford, J. and Hogan, David J. (2007) Wayfinding Design Guidelines. CRC for Construction Innovation, Brisbane. Viewed at http://digitalcollections.qut.edu.au/1719/
Viewed September 2016} state that a successful wayfinding system should “reassure users, create a welcoming and enjoyable environment and ideally, provide answers to potential queries before users have to ask for assistance”. This captures the spirit of independent and dignified navigation.

The key criteria for successful wayfinding are also suggested in guidelines and they neatly describe the core requirements for shopping centre, and large store, navigation. It should provide information for users to:

• Confirm that they are at the correct start or finish point of an individual journey.
• Identify their location within a building or an external space.
• Reinforce that they are travelling in the right direction.
• Orient themselves within a building or external space.
• Understand the location and any potential hazards.
• Identify their destination on arrival.
• Escape safely in an emergency.

Design Focus

In a retail setting, wayfinding could take the form of:

• A tactile map located near the front door of a large store to orient people within the store and locate key services like the service counter, lifts and toilet.
• Tactile and braille indicators on the path of travel for changes in direction and on stair handrails to indicate changes in floor or place or change of direction.
• Beacon technology and tactile maps at key points to gain orientation and direction.
• Clear directional signage for emergency evacuation.
• Signage legibility (size, font, contrast, glare reflection, ability to read from different angles) at appropriate expected distances.
• Different floor surfaces (texture and contrast) for the walkway to assist people in navigating the store.
• Use of colour or design to indicate different floors, wings or zones.
• Common pictograms like the International Symbol of Access to direct people to accessible toilets.
• Defining different areas of the store in clear zones that make finding the way easier.
• Using symbols as well as English to assist people from different cultural backgrounds as well as people that may have difficulty understanding.

Case study — Wayfindr

The Royal London Society of the Blind and a digital product studio called ustwo launched a joint venture to use beacon technology to enable people who are blind or have low vision to navigate successfully on the London underground. Google.org funded a trial of the app called Wayfindr at Euston station in London. The Wayfindr joint venture has created an Open Standard for the use and implementation of digital wayfinding on mobile devices using audio navigation^{*https://www.wayfindr.net/
Viewed September 2016}. Similar technology is being piloted by Transport NSW at Chatswood in Sydney's North.