- Complex programs
Innovative institutions in each of these segments have made digital wayfinding a priority, launching public-facing tools to help people find their way.
Beyond their concrete conglomeration, these facilities are built to house complicated systems: clinics require specialized equipment like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and labs; museums need distinct spaces for exhibits and storage; and transit centres are built around platforms, turnstiles, and gates. Requirements of these stationary elements often take precedence over the design of an ideal visitor experience, resulting in more challenging journeys for their audiences.
- High percentage of first-time visitors
During a recent hospital wayfinding project, researchers found 30 per cent of those surveyed were first-time visitors to the facility and an additional 40 per cent visited rarely. A study of visitors to the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh revealed 40 per cent of participants visit the museum “every few years” or less. In 2016, half of all transit rides in the U.S. were by commuters on familiar routes (routes they have traveled more than once). But the other half of rides were people navigating to a new destination and new riders, like tourists and visitors.
- Purpose-driven journeys that benefit from pre-trip planning
No one visits a hospital without a specific reason, whether it is for a lab test, doctor’s appointment, or to visit a patient. While visitors may meander within a museum’s galleries, they probably planned the visit ahead of time. And public transit—as a means to get from point A to point B—requires some preliminary planning to get to the right bus stop, train station, or subway entrance to start the journey.
- Google Maps does not help indoors
Google Maps has become smartphone users’ default digital wayfinding companion. Google has mapped nearly the entire planet (not to mention Mars), but it is of little help indoors or on private property. The Google Indoors initiative, to provide ‘blue-dot’ wayfinding inside airports, museums, and other large venues launched in 2014. Naturally, the program requires permission from and contracts with facility owners, but those hurdles have hampered its expansion and have prevented it from becoming a ubiquitous and reliable tool.
- Institutions want users to find their way
In the very competitive healthcare market, hospitals compete on ‘patient experience,’ which is often soured by getting lost, encountering parking problems, or arriving late to appointments. Museums are seeking novel ways to make their environments more welcoming and less intimidating—with the goal of helping visitors get the most out of their visit. Transit systems must encourage ridership to meet their revenue targets and effectively serve their communities.
- Institutions are investing in digital wayfinding to better serve communities
Innovative institutions in each of these segments have made digital wayfinding a priority, launching public-facing tools to help people find their way to and around their environments.
