Participating in an event that brought together some of the biggest names in the field of wayfinding was undoubtedly a highlight of this course for me, and I find it hard to imagine anything surpassing it. I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on that experience and highlight some of the points that I found especially interesting.
The moment Yo Kaminagai, a senior expert in Urban Mobility Design at UITP, began his presentation demonstrating the integration of the entire map onto the metro card in Paris, I realized the privilege of sitting in the audience. The whole room in the A6 building was excitedly listening to his talk about the metro systems of two vastly different yet iconic cities – Paris and Tokyo. Since Yo Kaminagai considers both of these cities his home, coupled with the decades of experience, made his speech especially captivating with the cross findings he made. One particularly valuable point for me was the necessity of integrating Signs, Objects, and Space, emphasizing the challenge of achieving interconnectedness among them. The challenge is present not only in Paris and Tokyo but everywhere, and I will try to keep it in mind when designing wayfinding systems. Yo Kaminagai ended his 40 minutes with the statement – to ‘serve cognitive comfort to moving humans’ — which eloquently summarizes the essence of wayfinders’s goal.
When Andrew Mead, Chief Architect at MTR Hong Kong, announced his intention to condense his career into a 30-minute presentation, I didn’t anticipate that my pen would remain glued to my notebook throughout this whole time. With his extensive experience spanning four iconic cities— Toronto, Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong— and overseeing the design of over 200 stations and more than 300 artworks, Mead shared some of the highlights of his career. What truly struck me was his innovative approach of integrating artwork into station design to encourage a sense of community ownership and enhance wayfinding. Each station has its unique artwork, eliminating the need for conventional signage; instead, the artwork itself serves as a mental map. For instance, the image of hockey players at the stadium station instantly communicates its location. Integrating people into the artwork and station design creates a distinct identity for each location, as in the case where local community members anonymously inscribed the name of the ‘Sheppard & Leslie’ station on its walls (pic 1). My other favorite example involves incorporating students’ fingerprints and their words into the design of the Singapore University of Technology and Design station, as well as seamlessly integrating the university’s logo branding (pic 2). This thoughtful approach ensures that each station becomes a natural extension of its surroundings. Moreover, it gave me a fresh perspective on the field, elevating what is viewed as a basic necessity into something meaningful for the community.
Sergio Luke, Principal Advisor at T-Kartor, shared his vision on how to keep maps relevant in the highly digitalized world we live in today. His perspective on combining dynamic and static elements by refocusing was a new way of thinking for me. At T-Kartor, they suggest presenting all information on a map in a single view; think of it as selecting a stop online and accessing all pertinent information instantly. An example of this approach can be seen with the stop in Geneva, where they implemented it effectively (pic 3). Since we have become accustomed to processing information differently, relying solely on agendas can lead to misinterpretations and cognitive overload. Therefore, maps, especially in critical locations such as stops, should consider this and arrange text and information hierarchies that people today can skim through and comprehend.
On the first day, Yo Kaminagai’s statement ‘To learn Paris, learning the metro map is enough,’ challenged my conventional understanding of transport maps. There is a potential for a map to transcend its utilitarian function and become an iconic symbol of a city’s essence. I believe all the attendees shared this vision, and I was amazed by their passion and enthusiasm for wayfinding. This enthusiasm was infectious, as I found myself critically observing wayfinding elements long after the symposium ended, and we navigated through the Dubai metro on our own. ‘Once you see it, you can’t unsee it’ – and I am fine with critiquing signage wherever I go now.
References:
Yo Kaminagai’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXwWN56N-5Q
Andrew Mead’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LQBcyUCzvo
Sergio Luke’s talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8bbQ48SqqE
I couldn’t agree more!
I understand how difficult it is to condense EVERYTHING we learned from the Wayfinding Symposium. Each speaker holds such an abundance of wisdom and knowledge about this field. I love getting to hear which takeaways made the most impression on you.
I liked the insight you took from Sergio Luke. It’s not something that I remember particularly, but designing maps to display what’s most relevant is truly intuitive and easy to view for a user.
And I completely agree with you– I can never see the Dubai metro in the same way.
I was reminded of so many great quotes from the Symposium that I had forgotten through this essay. For example, you mentioned that Kaminagai’s said wayfinding is to ‘serve cognitive comfort to moving humans.’ I think that is such a great encapsulation of what the purpose of wayfinding is and supports Varvara’s essay, which discussed how humor is often an essential element to signage despite it being functionally unnecessary.
Another aspect of wayfinding that is constantly fascinating me is the nexus between wayfinding and culture. That’s why I also really appreciated the quote about being able to know Paris from looking at a map. I think about a parallel in the United States, that iconic map of Manhattan, and how much a culture is able to be represented by a simple piece of paper. Amazing read! Thanks!