The transit mapping symposium was such an enriching experience for me, that I couldn’t stop taking notes throughout the two days; every speaker who gave a lecture was gushing with passion for their work and this field, and I got to learn so much about what wayfinding truly is about. Wayfinding is more than a simple system of maps and signs – it is the system and discipline of design that shapes cities as we know them today, forming hubs and shaping the city’s overall identity – a good wayfinding system is not standardized, rather it is unique to that place and the community within it – it embeds the voice of the people into the city itself. There’s no doubt that New York would not be the same without its subway, the same way Tokyo’s active districts would not be the same without the railway system that surrounds them.
One thing I found fascinating was the use of cognition in wayfinding. At first, I would think things like numbering and color-coding were great ways of utilizing cognition, since color coding makes systems more understandable for people – if you were a regular commuter, you would remember the color of the station or the metro line, and that would subconsciously guide you through your journey – the commute becomes almost muscle memory to the user. However, there are so many other ways to utilize cognition in a wayfinding system, for example, Yo Kaminagai pointed out that the Tokyo metro system not only uses color to make the experience more joyful, but in the Yamanote line, there is also a unique music track for each station which adds a whole new layer to wayfinding through sound. I was so fascinated by this because I hadn’t even noticed it when I was in Japan last December, but now I wish I paid more attention to the sounds that were playing at each stop. Interestingly, I played the video below as I was writing this, and my sister who was sitting next to me told me the music was familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she heard it.
The yamanote line music tracks for every stop.
Andrew Mead also gave a fascinating talk about how placing art within train stations acts as a cognitive tool; as the chief architect of the Hong Kong MTR, he pointed out that some stations in Hong Kong used art as a way to subconsciously steer people in the right direction. One example in particular blew my mind, it was an artwork of a horse where the horse’s head was pointing towards the exit, and that simple but clever placement made people subconsciously turn towards the exit, which I found deeply fascinating. The artworks were not randomly picked, rather they were often from local artists and had some sort of meaning and relevance in the space. They were carefully curated for every station, forming an identity for neighborhoods and stations, adding personality to the city, and making commutes just a little bit more joyful, which I find so beautiful. I was disappointed when he mentioned that he tried to pitch this with the Dubai Metro, which didn’t end up happening; however, with the rising art scene in Dubai creating hubs like Al Serkal Avenue, I would love to see art creep its way into the rest of the city, as well as the metro. One place where I feel like interactive or generative art would be fun is on the infamous long walk to and from the Dubai Metro Burj Khalifa station and the mall itself – which is just under a kilometer long – I can imagine some sort of dynamic projection being reflected on the windows as you walk through the long tunnel, which could distract visitors from how long the walk actually is, keeping them engaged as they walk.
The windows already have some fun architectural design going on, so I would love to see that being utilized for artwork, for example.
While wayfinding is a multidisciplinary branch of design, it is a core part of a user’s experience, or on a larger scale, within an entire city. The transport system of a city is what connects when end of the city to the other, and throughout the symposium, talks highlighted the importance of user testing in wayfinding, and in the case of Cairo, a city where the majority of people aren’t used to transit maps yet, it is important to listen to users and make sure they are as comfortable as can be. During Mariam Nada’s talk on Cairo’s transport system, she highlighted the importance of keeping familiar geographic elements – such as the Nile in the case of Cairo – when designing a schematic map of a network. Using landmark navigation in wayfinding creates a connection between the people and the new unfamiliar transport system. Adding a sense of familiarity to both people who are constantly using the system and people who are using it for the first time creates the consistent journey that Yo Kaminagai was talking about — the common thread within the wayfinding system.
One really fun design system presented by Yogesh Dandekar was titled ‘Follow The Line’, and it was essentially telling a story through signage – and the consistency continues throughout the station – according to Dandekar, the color-coded metro lines are also a part of the station itself and so integrating that aspect of both the station and mapping into the signage was something I was so happy to see. Not only is it consistent throughout the wayfinding system, but it also is an artistic form of visual communication – it’s almost like a comic, which I find super cool. In a place that is so linguistically diverse like India, where people speak hundreds of different languages, using signage like the one designed for ‘Follow the Line’ in Mumbai is such a great way of using visuals to communicate and tell a story, in a way.
Overall, I couldn’t be more grateful that I got the opportunity to attend such amazing talks which made me realize just how vast and diverse a field such as wayfinding is, and it was inspiring to see just how much passion these people have in their work. It is wayfinding that creates personality in a city, it is a discipline that touches millions every day, and the amount of thought and care put into it is often overlooked, I have gained a new layer of appreciation for the people behind these wayfinding systems and the work they have done to shape what wayfinding is today.
My favorite part about the symposium also has to be when Yo Kaminagai talked about the sound system in the Yamanote line. However, you did mention that you and your sister did not pay much attention to the sounds when you were there, but got reminded of it when you saw the video. I am pretty sure that the system is still very effective, but I got me thinking how many people were not able to benefit from it by not paying much attention to it?
Wayfinding through sound is such an interesting concept, but from what I remember, I couldn’t hear much when it was crowded on the train – I wonder how much much more useful it is to regular commuters than it is to tourists!
In this essay, you provoke a good discussion about achieving the balance between standardization and designing for a specific culture. I like how you specify that “a good wayfinding system is not standardized” and yet also mention the importance of a “common thread” existing between wayfinding systems to cater to foreigners and travelers. It reminded me of Boubacar’s essay about his mother, who benefitted from a standardized wayfinding system being in place in the UAE airport since she could speak neither English nor Arabic. From this essay, I was able to gather the conclusion that we should use as much creativity to express the culture of whoever we are designing for while working within a limited, standardized system.
I also really liked how you mentioned the use of songs in the Tokyo station. It was a perfect example of what I’m talking about, because I regard cute ditties to be very representative of Asian culture. For example, my Korean mother has a Korean rice cooker and an American one. While the American one is sleek and minimalist, the Korean one starts singing cute tunes when the rice is done cooking. In the Tokyo station example, the addition of singing expresses Tokyo culture while remaining within wayfinding principles so people know exactly where to go. Sometimes, creativity helps us improve function. This was a great read Fatima and made me think about a lot. Thanks!!
That long walk between the Dubai Mall Metro Station and the Kinokuniya Entrance of Dubai has gotta be one of the most disappointing walks I’ve ever walked in my walking career. I think it would be such a brilliant idea if there was art to look at along the way.
Not only could it entertain the pedestrians walking on that path, it would also be a brilliant indicator for how long one has walked that path. It’s not completely impossible to sense how much longer until you get to the mall, but every corridor does look roughly the same. It’s like walking down that thing that attaches to the airplane as you physically board the plane but it just doesn’t end.
Besides that, wonderful blog! I think cognition was also one of my biggest takeaways from the symposium, but the art in that station Andrew Mead designed for the Singapore University of Tech and Design was also so meaningful even if it doesn’t help actual wayfinding.