Author: Jane Bringolf

6 Steps for effective wayfinding

A street signpost with multiples signs going in several directions. They need 6 septs to effective wayfinding.
Image by Kim Broomhall from Pixabay

Wayfinding is more than just putting up a sign, but where signs are needed it’s time to call an experiential graphic designer. They have expertise in understanding human behaviour and perception. Knowledge of access codes is also part of their skill-set. The key point is to involve them at the beginning of a project for best effect. A SEDG blog post has 6 steps for effective wayfinding. 

6 Steps for Effective Wayfinding

Think about wayfinding long before the development site and architecture have taken shape. Experiential graphic designers are the go-to people at this point. The following steps are edited from the SEDG blog post. They outline the process for working with designers to integrate wayfinding into new or existing space. 

1. Kick off. A good designer will listen to the problems and challenges that a wayfinding systems needs to solve.

2. Strategize and plan. Designers think about how people move around and interact, anticipate needs and identify obstacles. They should also consider any regulations and restrictions to ensure designs are approved. 

3. Concept and design. A good designer will have skills in type, colour, form, materials, lighting and more and present a variety of designs. They consider sightlines, obstructions, language and culture, physical disabilities and visual impairments.  

4. Review and approve. This is the most important part of the process. A good designer packages the designs for approval and negotiates where necessary. 

5. Bid for pricing. Allow up to three weeks for this step so mistakes aren’t made leading to bigger issues. Proposals should include samples, colours, materials, shop drawings and permits.

6. Fabricate and install. Fabrication and installation takes eight to twelve weeks. A good designer will work with fabricators and installers to ensure design intent is followed, down to the last sign type and location.

Community Wayfinding

Jon Sanford’s chapter, Design fFront cover of the book Community Wayfinding: Pathways to Understanding.or All Users explains that despite its potential, universal design has not been widely adopted as a strategy in promoting community wayfinding. The book, Community Wayfinding: Pathways to Understanding is published by Springer Link and individual chapters can be purchased. Or go to the ResearchGate site and request free access to the full chapter. 

You can download the table of contents to see what else might be of interest.

From the abstract

In this chapter, the author describes not only what universal design is, but also what it is not: specialized designs to compensate for functional limitations.

Universal design, as articulated by a set of performance guidelines, describes how to promote usability and inclusivity—including community wayfinding—for everyone. The chapter addresses directions in research, policy, and practice necessary to promote universal design implementation.

 Award winning wayfinding design

Birds eye view of a wide pedestrian crossing with lots of people on itThere are three wayfinding design articles in this post. First, is public transport systems where good wayfinding is essential for reducing travel stress. Community wayfinding is essential for orientation, and hospitals are another situation where people experience wayfinding stress. And wayfinding is so much more than signage. 

Deborah Abidakun, won an RSA Student Design Award for her wayfinding system design. Being just below average height she found herself on tiptoe trying to understand 3D graphics. At night the lack of lighting made reading even more difficult. So Deborah started to wonder how others found these signs. This led her to carry out research around the existing pedestrian wayfinding system.

Deborah’s winning design was based on enhancing the Transport for London system. Find out more by going to the article – the illustration below has two more screens that help with the explanation. The title of the article is, Enabled by design: A way finding system that considers the disabled.

a prototype accessible wayfinding post and panel design. Award winning wayfinding design.

Hospital wayfinding

A boy sits on a chair and in front of him is a giant heart shaped apple sculpture with red hearts and other bright colours on it.Healthcare environments are under the design microscope with a growing body of evidence to show how design is linked to well-being. The design project manager for the Seattle Children’s Hospital is Integrating Art and Wayfinding. 

This short article outlines how the art planning team decided on the style of art. Patients, families, clinical and administrative staff. “Finding the right visual voice for patients whose ages range from infants to young adults, along with families and visitors is key” 

 

Inclusive design: more than a checklist

A desk with a large sheet of paper and pink post it notes. A person stands with their hand resting on the table. Inclusive design is more than a checklist.Design is powerful. It connects us to the world around us and shapes our lives. Inclusive design shapes products and services in ways that are useable by everyone. It requires a shared understanding of population diversity. Whether it’s a building a webpage, a policy framework or a town park, it ensures we “leave no-one behind“. Inclusive design is more than a checklist.

A blog page from Automattic says, “Truly inclusive designs are never really finished, and becoming fluent in inclusive design takes more than a checklist. We all need a map when we start exploring any new world”. This is the introduction to a “guidance map” aimed at leading individuals and teams through the processes of creating inclusive thinking and practice.

Although focused on technology, some of the principles and processes can be applied in other design situations. For example, “Learn about your audiences; their motivations, needs, behaviors, challenges, pain points and goals”. The key headings in this article on Design.blog are: 

      • Broadening perspectives and building empathy; 
      • Bringing diversity into teams and processes; and 
      • Building inclusion into designs.  

The article explains each of the three steps in more detail. Some concepts such as colour contrast are well-known to designers. Less considered factors are providing cost-accessible options of designs, and designing for low bandwidth. Designs should be adaptable for longer life and empower clients to continue without more designer input. These ideas really show that client needs are at the centre of the design. Designing out “pain points” is essential for all users. 

Design is a powerful tool and inclusive design has the “potential to unite heterogeneous cultures in shared understanding. To make products and experiences globally accessible.” Good design is inclusive design. 

 

Universal design and affordability in housing

Three stacks of coins sit alongside a wooden cut-out of a house shape. Universal design and housing affordability.Housing policy people think you can’t have universal design and affordability in housing. However, the opposite is likely to be true. The national Building Ministers’ Meeting in April this year agreed to include Livable Housing Silver level in all new housing. But not all states agreed to call it up in their jurisdiction. 

Victoria, Queensland, ACT, Tasmania and NT are right behind the changes to the National Construction Code, but NSW is not. Indeed, they informed advocates by letter that they have no intention of including silver level in NSW legislation. Their reasoning is that they believe they are doing enough already. By this, they mention some policies asking for a proportion of accessible dwellings in apartments. However, there is no evidence they are actually built, and if they were, there is no way of knowing where they are. 

Head and shoulders pic of Kay Saville-Smith
Kay Saville-Smith

The other reason for not changing the NSW code is that the politicians believe it costs too much. Accessible housing continues to be perceived as a niche area. A few good points were made by Kay Saville-Smith at a roundtable after the 2014 Australian Universal Design Conference. Sadly, we are still no further forward and her words hold true today. 

Universal design is affordable design

Here are Kay Saville-Smith’s five key points about universal design in housing and affordability: 

“The usual argument is that universal design is consistently unaffordable (by which they mean more costly) than poor design because of the difficulties of retrofitting the existing environment and lack of economies of scale. But the reasons why universal design is seen as costly can add cost. Five points are interesting: 

    1. Most products are not designed but driven off existing tools, processes and organisational  structures. To change these does require some investment (hump costs) but these are one off and should not be seen as an ongoing cost. Indeed, those changes can bring reduced costs in the long term through increased productivity etc.
    2. The costs of poor design are externalised onto households, other sectors or hidden unmet need.
    3. Comes out of an advocacy approach that pitches the needs of one group against another and treats universal design as special design etc.
    4. Win-win solutions need to be built with the industry participants that are hungry for share not dominant players who have incentives to retain the status quo.
    5. Universal design is different from design which is fashion based. The trick is to make universal design fashionable so no one would be seen dead without it.”

Her keynote presentation provides more information about affordability and why it is so hard to get traction with universal design in housing. 

For more history on the Building Ministers’ Meeting and decisions to include Livable Housing Silver level in the NCC, go to the housing design policy section. 

Inclusion in Motion Playspace

Overview of the Inclusion in Motion Playspace.
Inclusion in Motion Playspace

The Inclusion in Motion Playspace is a great example of a local community project. Similarly to the Touched by Olivia founders in Australia, a family decided to do something when they encountered the “don’t stare” moment. Their son’s limited opportunities for play with other children was the driving force behind their decision that this had to change. It all began with a small local committee.

Fundraising efforts made the playspace possible together with volunteer effort to help with the build. According to Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDEA) the build is about to begin.  

Danise Levine from IDEA played an integral part in this collaboration as a designer. Universal design strategies are built into every aspect of the project. The Inclusion in Motion founders have a short story to tell on their Dream Big website.

The website includes an excellent video (below) of what the playspace will look like. It’s a good example of how a small community can come together for a common purpose and it showcases some of the best universally designed equipment available

The universally designed Everyone Can Play guidelines take a similar approach to designing playspaces. More resources are in the Parks and Playspaces section of this website. 

 

Transport and Health Guidebook

People waiting at a Melbourne tram stop. The tram is approaching. Transport and Health Guidebook.Transportation professionals are aware of the connection with health, but are public health professionals making the links? In general terms we know that the design of the built environment impacts on health. Transportation systems are part of the built environment and therefore impact health as well. From the USA comes a well-researched transport and health guidebook that joins the dots. 

The guidebook is primarily for transportation practitioners. It has a set of tools and resources for planning at all levels and for collaborating with health stakeholders. The guidebook also serves as reference for public health practitioners to learn more about how to contribute to transport planning.

The guidebook is titled, “Connecting Transportation and Health: A Guide to Communication and Collaboration”. It contains, tips, tools, case examples, process steps and integration opportunities. The intersections between transport and health are presented in table format. While the guide is based on USA organisations, it is applicable in other countries.

The research project underpinning the guide found communication challenges between health and transportation professionals. The challenges included the different jargon and terminology, and the different planning processes. Acquiring relevant data for analysis was another issue. Consequently, the researchers needed to find out how the two disciplines could work together more effectively.

The aim of the guidebook is to foster partnerships between transport agencies and public health organisations. Each have their jargon and assumptions and these need to be clarified throughout the process. There are two documents:

      1. The full guide, Connecting Transportation & Health: A Guide to Communication and Collaboration. This is an 84 page document that includes information on the underpinning research.
      2. The Quick Reference Key Tables and Tools has the key elements for practitioners.

Public mental health

Delegates at an international conference in Barcelona participated in a workshop that provided some useful insights into transport related factors that could impact public mental health. While there are many factors that influence mental health, urban design can provide protective factors.

The title of the article is Scoping assessment of transport design target to improve public mental health.

Barriers in public transport for people with mental health conditions include crowds, waiting times and lack of information. For more on this, see  Universal Design of Public Transport Systems for People with Mental Health Impairments. 

Accessible Transport Guide

Front cover of the accessible transport report. shows people boarding a tram. Accessible Transport good practice guide.Improving Transport Accessibility for All: Guide to Good Practice, covers transport information, the road and pedestrian environment, infrastructure, vehicles, private cars, and emerging transport services.

The information is detailed and specific in this OECD guide. Examples from different member countries are provided. Although the Guide was published in 2006, the information is still relevant as progress has been slow, particularly in Australia. You can download the guide in PDF from the OECD International Transport Forum website. It is interesting to note that the guide is following its own advice on best practice in the presentation of information.

Accessible Transport: The Economics

Aerial view of a railway line, main roads and suburban streetsInaccessible transport can be a major barrier to participation in social and civic life, and this has a knock-on effect for the economy. Transport is not usually something we do for its own sake. We use transport in one form or another to achieve something else, such as shopping, going to work or school, or for social activities. It is the glue that holds together the many activities people undertake in their daily lives. But not all transport systems and facilities are accessible to everyone – and it is not just about users of mobility devices. 

A discussion paper from New Zealand recognises that some disabilities are invisible, “… given that arguably everyone is a beneficiary of universal design some of the time; that many factors influencing participation are invisible, such as mental illness or hearing difficulty, for example; if an observational measurement method is going to be used, then it must necessarily involve a proxy measure for ‘beneficiary of universal design’.”

This is an encouraging approach because many studies measure ability and disability of individuals at one point in time, and not across the lifespan. The paper includes a road crossing case study from Hamilton in New Zealand. It concludes with the need for mutual understanding between those who plan and build transport and those that use it. The discussion paper on estimating the costs and benefits of participation was prepared by the Roundtable on Economics of Accessible Transport, part of the OECD International Transport Forum.

International transport forum logoThe OECD website has an iLibrary of discussion papers for this Forum. Filtering for “accessibility” brings up several papers, many of them recent.   

 

Resource for architecture students

A long flight of stairs with a handrail leading to a large concrete column. A resource for architecture students.
Note the left hand rail leads into the column

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance created a video of all the access problems at a new student learning centre. The Alliance chair, David Lepofsky narrates the video which has captions. If you are looking for design examples, this is an excellent resource for architecture students and upcoming access consultants. The obstacles that sloping columns create are clearly shown in the video along with other issues.

Some aspects of the video could make a comedy sketch if they weren’t so critical to getting around the building. Elevator controls with three different messages are a case in point. The video shows everything from large scale design issues, such as the sloping columns, to the fine detail – where is the sign? Amazingly, the building won a design award.

Full version of 30 minutes is worth the watch especially if using as a teaching resource. With captions on you can watch at a faster speed. However, there is a shorter version of 12 minutes.

Shorter version of the video at 12 minutes below.

 

Kindergartens: Inclusive spaces for all children

Five small children stand in a line with their backs facing the camera. Kindergartens inclusive spaces for all children.
Kindergartens: Inclusive spaces for all children?

What do children think of the play spaces designed by adults? Why not ask them? That’s what a two Norwegian researchers did, and what an interesting result they found. They asked kindergarten children what they liked best and made them comfortable. Children with and without disability mostly wanted the same things, but there were a few differences. The researchers found the answer to what makes kindergartens inclusive spaces for all children.

Asking small children what they want and what they like is not a common research method. Within a qualitative framework, children collaborated with researchers. They identified the places and spaces that made them feel comfortable and included. Small places equipped with different types of construction materials were a favourite. 

Although the context is a supervised kindergarten, there are some interesting findings for unsupervised playspaces. These relate to both group play and parallel play. Fixed small places with non-organised materials were found to be group inclusive. Building blocks were attractive to all children. 

The children guided the researchers through their outdoor spaces where they found many activities in parallel. Children formed their own groups for games. Some children with socio-emotional issues, were less at home in these games. However, the ability to move to an area to be alone might have been a positive response. 

From the Conclusion

Small places with materials such as cushions and building blocks appear to be socially inclusive spaces for all children. We have to question our adult values in designing playspaces and the involvement of children with disability. Children have their own ideas of what is safe and fun. 

“Our study has shown that there is still a discrepancy between
ideology, children’s preferences and pedagogical practices. Children’s voices told that (dis)ability is a spatial phenomenon and guides the inclusive pedagogy closer to the dynamic between children, place and space.”

The title of the paper is, Kindergartens: Inclusive spaces for all children? It is an open access article. It’s worth noting that 97 per cent of children aged four to five years in Norway attend a kindergarten and that includes children with disability.

Note: An issue with fenced child play areas is that adults with disability can’t get in due to the gate latch being inaccessible. The same issue occurs with child care centres and kindergartens.

See the Parks, Open Spaces and Playspaces section of this website for more resources. 

Ageism is bad for your health

An older woman's pair of hands. A common ageist and patronising image of an older person.
A common ageist image. Why not her face?

We have to stop ageism at the older end of the age spectrum. Why? Because it’s killing us. The World Health Organization, says older people who hold negative views about their own ageing will live 7.5 years less than people with positive attitudes. So where do these negative views come from? Everywhere it seems. Ageism is bad for your health because ageing is framed as a negative experience. 

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald reports on this phenomenon. Ageist comments, such as “silly old duck” or “they are useless with technology” are socially accepted. Calling someone an “old dear” is not a term of endearment. Language matters because it is an expression of how we think. Ageism is yet to be properly recognised as damaging, unlike racism and sexism.  But we must be careful with the term ageism.

Ageism is always referred to as an older age issue. However, it is not. Anyone of any age can be subject to ageism. In Europe, the only region with data on all age groups, younger people report more age discrimination than other age groups. Philip Taylor has more to say on this in his UD2021 presentation. 

Ageism affects everyone. Children are brought up in a culture of age stereotypes that guide their behaviours towards people of different ages. They also learn how to perceive themselves at various stages of life. 

The WHO says that ageism is everywhere – in our institutions and relationships to ourselves. For example:

    • Policies that support healthcare rationing by age,
    • Practices that limit younger people’s opportunities to contribute to decision-making in the workplace
    • Patronising behaviour used between older and younger people
    • Self-limiting behaviour based on our own ideas of what a certain age can or cannot do. 

Is ageism really a problem?

This section from the WHO website on ageism says it is:

Two women sit on a bird nest swing depicting a positive image of older people.
Two older women on a bird nest swing. A more positive image.

Ageism can change how we view ourselves, erode solidarity between generations, devalue or limit our ability to benefit from what younger and older populations can contribute. It can impact our health, longevity and well-being while also having far-reaching economic consequences. Ageism is associated with earlier death (by 7.5 years), poorer physical and mental health, and slower recovery from disability in older age.

Ageism also increases risky health behaviors, such as eating an unhealthy diet, drinking excessively or smoking, and reduces our quality of life. In the United States, one in every seven dollars spent on health care every year for the eight most expensive conditions was due to ageism (US$ 63 billion in total).

Other posts on ageing and ageism include Are you Ageist? Probably. and Market segmentation by age – does it work?  

 

Why icons should have labels

A brightly coloured abstract painting consisting of painbrush lines going in all directions. That's why icons should have labels.
Icons are like abstract paintings – they need labels

Digital designers are great at creating icon puzzles for users. They make a good guessing game until you learn what they represent. We see icons everywhere – on microwaves, washing machines, and of course, apps. Like abstract paintings, icons have different meanings for different people. We might like ambiguity in art, but not on our smart phones. That’s why icons need labels. 

Icons are used as a way to save space, or where space for instruction is limited. But designers make a lot of assumptions about previous experience with instructions. Hampus Sethfors explains that saving space at the expense of usability is not the way to go.

In his Axesslab article, Sethfors uses the example of trying to download a TED Talk on a smart phone for viewing later. He explains why icons are ruining interfaces and that icons need labels otherwise users give up and become unsatisfied with the app. Sethfors also uses Instagram, Gmail, and Apple apps as examples of what not to do. He goes on to look at icons on a washing machine dial, and then to icons that really work. You can really see the difference in the examples shown below.

Example of icons without labels.
Icons without titles
Example of Icons with titles
Icons with labels

 

 

 

 

 

A related article from Axesslab is how to improve web page content. It shows practical examples of how to improve accessibility and how to avoid simple pitfalls. 

The Australian Network on Disability has a blog page on writing accessible social media posts.  

There is more ICT information on this website. 

 

When universal design is not enough

A person with a wheelie walker trying to negotiate the gap between the bus and the kerb.
The gap between the kerb and the bus

Having different contractors for different parts of an infrastructure project is a risk for accessibility. It can literally fall between the cracks. Having overarching principles of universal design is not enough to ensure accessibility of interconnecting infrastructure. When different companies build stations and buses we need to make sure they join up well. This was not the case in Norway.

A conference paper explains the situation for the new Metrobuss System in Trondheim. When the construction of stations and buses was well underway, they discovered they were built to different access standards. This made is impossible for wheelchair users and others to use the new system. Norway has a reputation for promoting universal design. So what did they learn from this situation?

First, there are always challenges in implementing universal design. It’s one thing to have it on a page, and another to have it in real life. Both bus and station manufacturers followed valid guidelines. Harmonising guidelines was the first lesson. 

The people involved were lacking knowledge about the ideas an principles of universal design. Second lesson is to have user and expert involvement throughout the process. When issues arise, it is easier to find solutions before it’s too late.

A woman is getting on a bus. The footpath has a built up pad to raise the height so she can get on the bus. When universal design isn't enough.
A bus pad raises the height of the footpath

The paper describes some ‘work-arounds’ – some worked better than others. As with other projects, a ramp is not always a workable solution to patch up a design. The paper has 13 solutions specifically designed to overcome the access issues.

The title of the paper is, Universal Design in the Metrobuss System of Trondheim, Norway – Challenges and Solutions presented at the International Universal Design Conference in 2021 in Finland. It is open access or you can download the PDF version directly. 

Abstract

The presentation describes challenges and possible solutions for achieving truly accessible high-class urban public transportation based on a case from Trondheim. The implemented solution did not reflect the wheelchair user’s needs– despite clearly stated ambitions for accessibility.

Ramboll conducted a study comprising a screening of the international market for relevant solutions, combined with interviews with representatives of Public transport authorities. The results were presented to the local user’s representatives, and some solutions tested on location. Based on this process, recommendations were made for short, medium, and long-term solutions.

The project highlights the need for involvement of sufficient professional knowledge of universal design in the planning phase as well as in the implementation phase.

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