1. One biggest takeaway I gained from this class is learning the importance of planning. Before, many of my assignments were submitted at the last minute. Sometimes it was not that I didn’t have time to do the work, but I was procrastinating. As a result, a lot of work piled up. Completing them at the same time was very tiring and the quality of the assignment could not be ensured. I’m grateful for the conversation I had with the professor. It was like a wake-up call that made me realize that I could do better and made me start changing. After all, the point is not to complete the assignment, but to learn from it. I plan ahead and make a to-do list based on deadlines and the approximate time each assignment will take. Overall, despite the increased workload this semester, I’m doing well because I perform better at time arrangements than before.
2. One of the quotes Ulan shared in his latest blog is “complexity of the world requires that designers understand the needs and dilemmas”. I used to think that the designer’s job was to produce beautiful visuals, but now I realize that the designer has deeper responsibilities. Design plays a significant role in shaping, influencing, and spreading social values. The professor mentioned that designs reflect the spirit of a time and the general conversation of a time. Designers should always be alert to normal things. They should have the self-awareness of being accountable. Designers are the actors of change.
I remember when I first came to the NYUAD campus, I was fascinated by the design style of the buildings. But on the first day of class, I got lost. There are no effective labels on A1-A6 buildings showing their names. The only label they have only shown the textual name of a building like social science building and does not include its most popular name, such as A5. The labels are often blocked by pillars in front of buildings and are difficult to observe. One of my professors said in the announcement that the classroom was in the east administration building, which is actually A4. But I didn’t know that at the time. I could only ask the security guards. But surprisingly, the security guards weren’t so sure.
In the first week, my classmates and I were complaining that the classrooms were too hard to find and that there were no conspicuous labels outside the buildings. But no one did anything to change it. I didn’t even think about doing any attempt to change it. I assumed that I could not make the change. And this thought seems to be normal for most people today. However, the wayfinding class showed me a different side. Soul beach built a ramp for people with limited mobility because of the professor’s Twitter post. The school shortened the outer edge of the window because of the professor’s proposal. The professor shows us the responsibility and social awareness of a good designer by his actions. We are the change-makers. Although it’s hard to really make it happen because people don’t like change. We also practiced this in the assignment of impossible pictograms. Not only did we discover unreasonable wayfinding designs on campus, but we also used our designs to facilitate changes. Funny solutions and pictograms are the means to arouse people’s discussion. The core of our design is to make people give importance to the issues and further solve them.
The lessons I learned from this class are way more than this two. They are life lessons. I want to thank the professor for sharing his insights about design and life and providing us the opportunity of meeting with some of the greatest designers. I also want to thank all my classmates for their sharing and help. It was great to meet you all and learn from you all.
I want to thank everyone for being part of this eye-opening experience that not only changed the way I think about design but also everything around me. Three months ago, I didn’t know that wayfinding exists. I believed that when a project is planned, all we do is create designs for it for the sake of the aesthetics and that’s it; we don’t need to think about anything else—the project is done, and everything is ready. Looking back, I realize that it is, and will never be, this easy. Every blog post I wrote here documents the moments of progress and realizations I have had throughout the 14 weeks, an evidence how one’s perception of lots of things around him can change so easily. That’s because design is not just a style; it’s a language. My biggest realization from the class is that we don’t master design by learning how to use Photoshop; we learn it by looking into ourselves, trying to master, understand, and expect how we think.
Therefore, I want to use my last blog to share with you and remind my future self of all the main takeaways from this class that were transformative for me, which I summed up in the following tens points.
How you present the idea can be more important than the idea itself.
I’ve learned in this course that creativity is never enough. If you can’t present the product of your thought in a clear way that is as superb as your idea, then no matter how creative you’re, your idea/work might end up not being as successful as you expect.
2. If your first sketch for an idea is good, DON’T stop.
It feels great to find an idea from the first time you start working on a project, I know. However, think about it. If this is your starting point—your first sketch. For some reason, you decided to stop at that point. By doing that, you lose the opportunity to come up with something that is really impressive. Just imagine how amazing your final sketch will be if you keep on trying, sketching, and editing. In the end, you’ll come up with the best idea possible. Don’t settle for your first idea.
3. If the user can’t use/understand it, then it is not his fault.
This class taught me how to be sympathetic towards myself. I no longer blame myself when I cannot open something from the first time, or when I fail to find the turn-on button for the iMac screen. I now know that bad design exists, and I’m not, as a user, the one to be blamed. While this realization makes me feel good about myself, it also leaves me in constant fear that I might commit the same mistake of bad design in my projects. In my opinion, one should always keep an attentive eye to notice such errors.
4. Don’t be afraid to share your work. It might get harshly critiqued, but it is a free opportunity to learn
I think that one of the problems designers in general face is the fear of sharing work. Most of us fear being criticized or have what we created get critiqued. I learned in this class that a designer’s lifetime goal is to always seek improvement. How do you improve? It’s easy: ask those around you and start a discussion. See what they notice, what their comments are, and how they feel about your work. Probably my favorite moment in this class was when I presented my cheatsheet on Visual Explanations’s chapter two by Edward Tufte. I was happy to see how everyone was willing and open to share what they found wrong about the slides or what looked off. I wrote down all their comments, and I still have them till this day that. Whenever I work on a presentation, I will make sure not to make the same mistakes again.
5. Feedback is free. Always ask for it.
I will probably be using this advice forever in my academic career. For some reason, we students always get distracted by the requirements of an assignment, forgetting that the source himself (the professor or the TA) are always there to help. If you feel stuck, just ask for their opinion. Professor Goffreddo once said something along the lines of: “I’m the one who will be evaluating this. So it makes sense that if you feel the need to ask about something, just send me an email.” I think this is important as we, for some reason, might get overwhelmed to the point that we are both wasting time and making no progress, while, in fact, the solution is in front of us.
6. Appreciate your years at NYUAD
Professor Goffredo once said that if you are part of a design agency and you have to do international work, you’ll have to work with a diverse group of designers from different parts of the world—something that is really expensive. We, at NYUAD, have diversity of all kinds for free here. All we have to do is just go to D2. That’s it. Literally. In other words, we should make use of our university years, appreciate them, and try to learn as much as possible from our colleagues.
7. Design is a universal language, but take care
While the psychological behavior of us humans is somewhat similar (our reaction to nudges, for instance), that doesn’t mean that what applies somewhere applies elsewhere. Professor Goffredo once told us about the story of the hand gesture that a police officer made, which the Professor misinterpreted as it means something offensive in Italy. Few days ago, I came across a post on Twitter that said that the poster of the Movie Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness was edited to suit the Italian audience because of an inappropriate hand gesture that Doctor Strange makes in the original poster. This reinforced my belief that designers should put extra effort to make sure that none is offended by their work.
Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness poster before and after
8. Creativity is a skill you can nourish and boost
The beautiful thing about design is that there is no limit to what one can create. Even if you know nothing about it, with some creativity, you can do a lot and bring insightful opinions to discussions. If you’re not creative, then don’t worry. It’s a process that takes time, and with practice, you’ll be amazed at how fast your mind becomes capable of finding ideas in short periods of time.
9. We learn (and get inspired) by sharing
Seeing my colleagues’ work throughout the semester has always been inspiring to me. Every time I left my desk to check my colleagues’ work on their computers, I found that I always learned something new, got inspired, or found a mistake that I knew I might need to avoid in the future. Indeed, that moment of all of us sharing our work together at the same moment was priceless, and it made learning exponential.
10. You’ll never stop learning
Perhaps this is the most important point I realized from this class. Seeing Professor Goffredo’s passion with his guests, and how he, even after all these years of teaching, is always open to that moment of new realization that will change his perception of design and “unlocks something new” was indeed inspirational. It taught me that a student of design should always do away with his ego and be open to that one simple concept that he might not notice at first sight but will blow his mind once he does.
To me these were the top 10 lessons I’m glad I’ve learned in this class. While they might not appear related to wayfinding, I believe this couse was not just about wayfinding. It was never about the roads, the ways, or whatever. It was always about us humans trying to find our ways around. It was always about us understanding ourselves so we can predict our next move, and that’s the whole idea of design.
To everyone,
Thank you!
P.S. Attached is an image of a desire path I came across today.
As a semester full of learning in this class comes to an end, I look back in retrospect upon the meaning of Wayfinding and how my understanding of it has evolved. In my first blog, I wrote about my first thoughts on Wayfinding and described it as “a practice that has underlying complexities” and is “…about orienting people in unknown spaces and making the process natural”. However, if I now question myself, I was really unsure of what those complexities consist of when I was writing that blog. The class discussions and activities then introduced me to these practices, ideas, and principles that I then referred to as ‘complexities’. From the theoretical ideas of Wayfinding methods, affordances, and nudges to actually implementing those in my designs, I started experiencing what a wayfinding designer really does. So the class became much more than a class about graphic designing, it became an experience where ideas are given a frame of a wide variety of theoretical considerations, judged from a critical lens, and then shaped into reality. Whether it be going through different iterations of maps and diagrams with Jug Cerović or brainstorming so many impossible ideas for a pictogram on the whiteboard, what I learnt through the lectures found its place in reality through an integration of all the theoretical concepts. However, there was much more to it. A significantly important and sizeable portion of my learning experience about wayfinding and design came not just from theory and practice, but from my interactions with my peers.
Everyone in the class brought a unique perspective and set of skills to contribute towards the topic. The very first activity of our names in pictionary revealed how AbdelRahman is really skilled at quickly thinking of effective designs and then creating them using the graphic design tools. For most of us it was a new skill to learn, and so we had a different learning curve. However, seeing so many designs come up so quickly from AbdelRahman helped me understand the design process better, and helped me visualize what good designs could really look like. This undoubtedly helped me learn the Adobe suite quicker. Working and brainstorming ideas with Zunair, Ishmal, and Muskaan helped me give coherence to my thoughts while working on pictograms. Zunair brought a critical eye towards the practicality of an idea in wayfinding systems while Ishmal and Muskaan helped me make the pictograms wildly impossible. Laura’s critical questioning of whatever we discussed in class with the Professor or one of the guest speakers helped me ask questions that gave me a better perspective of wayfinding systems and ideas. Ulan’s openness to collaborate and Yeji’s cheatsheet’s design gave me ideas out of my own box of creativity while Jia’s design work based on the many theoretical ideas and her analysis of existing systems in her blog inspired further refinement in my own ideas. It would be unfair and impossible to try and summarize everyone’s contributions to my learning experience throughout the semester in just one blog. However, one thing is certain: every time anyone offered any opinion, it added another angle to my own perception about the different topics we came across. Without that, I would have had a very narrow understanding of wayfinding design no matter how many texts I read or how many designs I made. Through integrating all the different ideas coming from my peers, I have come a long way in learning about wayfinding. As I quoted Clement Mok, former creative director of Apple Inc., in my first blog:
““If you look at studies in wayfinding,…,it’s about creating a complete system. It’s about looking at the whole”.
What do I mean when I say “I have come a long way in learning about wayfinding”? Here, I do not just refer to what I learnt inside of the class. Before enrolling in the course, I came across reviews saying you will actually find yourself seeing design differently everywhere. The first campus activity of noting the wayfinding design issues was just an introduction. Soon, I had learnt so much about wayfinding systems that I started viewing everything with this critical angle I had just gained. This became to the point that some designs even became annoying and inconvenient when I could understand how little or no attention has been paid to wayfinding elements in these systems. Be it a walk on the campus highline, navigating myself in World Trade Center Mall Abu Dhabi, finding my way in Expo 2020 Dubai, or walking through the streets of Tbilisi during Spring Break. While I could see how ideas like simplicity and redundancy of design and integration of wayfinding principles could make these existing designs so much more helpful, I also found myself being able to easily find my way by employing some of the wayfinding ideas that we came across in class. Being less reliant on what Google Maps told me and employing track following, educated seeking, among other ideas worked for me almost all the time and I could actually enjoy seeing the world around me instead of staring down a path on my phone screen.
This critical analysis of existing systems makes me wonder about how much thought should be given to improve poor designs? And when does a wayfinding design fail? On a walk back to my room from class, I noticed something that immediately made me think that all the wayfinding design on our beautiful little campus has failed miserably. The disoriented maps, the conflicting directional signage, the unorganized braille, and the hidden components have no meaning at all and are really just there to check boxes when people cannot even use them. The following pictures I took will show you what I am talking about:
Paper signage pointing to A1A outside A2C on highlinePaper signage pointing to A1A outside elevator near marketplace exit towards B1 on highline
These paper signs were pasted across the campus pointing to buildings like A1A and D2. I even saw one saying “D2” pasted on a wall of D2 itself. Upon further inspection, they seemed to be pasted to help some visitors for an event to navigate on campus. Still, even with these paper signs, a visitor asked me the directions to A1A from palms at 4 a.m. While these speaks volumes about how the existing wayfinding systems have failed, it also invites and creates a space to think about what can be done moving forward. Surely, printing on A4 sized papers for every building every time there is a potential visitor unfamiliar to our campus spaces is not a very impressive solution, let alone effective or sustainable. From what we identified in this class, and this seemingly final nail on the coffin, the NYUAD campus is in critical need of a significant update to its wayfinding systems that are designed not just to check boxes but to actually help the users of these systems find their way.
From the number of buildings in this campus, the ambiguity surrounding their names, the ever moving offices, the dynamically shifting spaces, and the growing number of centers on campus, it can only be safe to assume that the problems are projected to increase. This is an example of a small campus where poor wayfinding design leads to problems. Now think of a larger system, perhaps cities like Abu Dhabi or projects like Etihad rail that are directly connected to millions of people and not just a few hundred on a university campus. The problems related to wayfinding could grow exponentially and, thus, it is imperative to have systems built around good wayfinding ideas at their core.
While our class is now attempting to provide some useful wayfinding recommendations to some centers on campus, it is going to take institutional effort for a major improvement. Nonetheless, the concepts I learnt in class from the lectures, from practice, and from my peers were vital in helping me think more critically about wayfinding. With an ever present need of good wayfinding design, it might be a wrap for our class this semester but now it’s never going to be a wrap for my learning experience around wayfinding.
When I think of the impact Wayfinding has had on my life, I’m grateful (and surprised) that the scope doesn’t just end at “design.” I enrolled in this class, hoping to learn about designing tools, maps, and the definition of “wayfinding,” but I ended up learning more about their importance and how they can be used to achieve personal, economic, and political goals. Given the maximum potential of practicability that I gained from this class, I’d like to dedicate my last blog to the main lessons I got from this course.
“Because maps have so many decisions behind them, they are more than just designs, they are part of our perception of experiences.”
The first one is very unexpected and breaks stereotypes. Before this class, if someone wanted to talk to me about maps, I would have formed the thought “how boring.” But apart from any prejudices I might have had about maps being uninteresting before this class, I think generally speaking maps has never been a topic you see people being particularly passionate about—it has become almost like a niche. However, after our lectures with Giuseppe Attoma and Jug Cerovic, I can never see maps the same way. Firstly because I know that they are not completely accurate (geographically speaking) and second because I know the impact that the latter piece of information has had in using maps to alter politics and influence history (e.g. the map of Berlin). Now, everytime I go out and I use a map, I find myself thinking how much it was altered to look like that, simpler and more practical. I wonder if there is any particular reason for every silhouette or figure or change the person in charge decided to include. In short, maps have become something more familiar to me, and I can appreciate the role of maps better because of these learnings. I know now that because maps have so many decisions behind them, they are more than just designs, they are part of our perception of experiences.
“Because maps have so many decisions behind them, they are more than just designs, they are part of our perception of experiences.”
The second lesson I want to take with me is the link between making good design choices and creating more reliable, strong material and messages. Learning about hidden cues that lead to people’s interactions with objects (nudges) and the purposeful use of typefaces taught me that nothing in design is by chance—it has an intention and a goal for which the design was made for. It is not the same using disruptive and disorganized typefaces than using more delicate and simple typefaces to a formal message. There is a reason why the same texts can have different impacts on people’s perceptions of them by changing the typography. Moreover, the use of the concept of nudges can prevent utter disasters in museums and other important places that hold value to history and society (or even just daily spaces that hold things that are important to us). These concepts are not just practical in design, but are useful in day-to-day tasks and should be concepts available to all.
“Ethics makes good design.”
The final lesson, and personally the most interesting, is that ethics makes good design. When working on the presentation about Edward Tufte’s “Visual Explanations,” I remember being particularly excited about his point of the lack of comparison and truthful research being signals for untrustworthy conclusions. In other words, how being ethical was actually beneficial to the researcher, whether or not that could lead to arguments against their work. Moreover, we can see this point in Christian Greco’s work at the Museo Egizio, where his intentions for remodeling the space come from accepting that the objects they possess truly belong to Egypt, not Italy. From these two examples, I’m truly confident that the best designs come from ethical grounds, not only because of the content, but how their content can contribute to society.
After the previous reflections, I can say that visual design is key and necessary in conveying the messages of today, and wayfinding design related knowledge is without a doubt very resourceful to achieve this. I’m hopeful about the way I will apply this knowledge in fighting for inclusion and equality in the future, and peacefully knowing that truth always wins, even in design. To conclude, I just want to highlight how design keeps surprising and offering humanity tools to build the future they want to live in, whether that looks like ethical museums, inclusive signage, or innovative maps.
I never expected that I would learn Wayfinding, its principles, and other essential principles in Design ever in my life. Before taking this course, I was convinced that design requires one to be born with certain skills and some degree of talent to succeed in the field. This course proved to me it is not true: although talent and a good sense of people’s needs helps in using design to suit one’s goals, hard work and experience are ultimately the most important determinants of success in design.
I have collected some phrases throughout the semester from the lectures by the professor and the guests. I believe that the phrases are very helpful in understanding what design is and how we should approach it, so I am going to include them and offer my interpretation of them. ‘’Never underestimate how much you can progress.’’ This is motivation. This phrase shows that no matter our starting point in design, through sufficient and consistent practice, anyone can improve their skills a great deal. The best part about this phrase is we all already know that this holds true – all of us are much more knowledgeable and much better at design than we were at the start of our course! ‘’Sometimes it’s the better presentation, not the better design.’’ This is one of the things that the professor urged us not to forget. No matter how good your design is, to convince others and put it out there, you need to be a good presenter. ‘’Communication doesn’t have an opposite. There’s always communication.’’ I still remember that funny experience where I was instructed by the professor not to respond to him. But when he was bombarding me with questions, I felt like even though I was silent the whole time, the professor was able to extract some information on my persona on the way I was handling the silence task. By seeing that I smiled and almost laughed, the professor discovered my childish/goofy side. If I did not move a muscle on my face, which I did, he would still be able to get valuable information that I am serious when it comes to carrying out tasks. And if I ignored his task and proceeded with responses to him, he would still extract some valuable information on the way I behave myself with other people’s requests. In the end, communication exists everywhere – in silence too. ‘’What if the poster stays for one more day?’’ Although I do not remember what the poster was, I can still remember clearly why I wrote this down as an important quote. Design product should not lose its relevance after it has served its purpose. This question reminds me of the future–proof aspect of our designs – they should always be prepared to be used more, and not lose their effectiveness over time. ‘’We don’t always notice the exclusiveness of designs. Accessibility needs to go hand-in-hand with design.’’ This is self-explanatory. Design exists to serve people. If it serves not all but only some of them, then it is a bad design. Don’t be a bad designer. ‘’Complexity of the world requires that designers understand the needs and dilemmas.’’ Every epoch is characterized by certain prevalent ideas and public movements, and design is shaped under great influence by those ideas and movements. To be a good designer, one must know what epoch they are living in right now and be respectful of the values of that epoch. Moreover, designers have the power to influence those values through the propagation of their personal beliefs. Designers should be mindful of that and use it to better the world. ‘’Have experts help you with things that you are not competent at when you work on projects.’’ Designers often work in complex projects that require extensive knowledge in several areas. It is impossible to be an expert in all areas that exist, so chances are every designer will have to deal with things they don’t know at least once. At times like this, it is much wiser and more effective to ask for help and guidance, or even hire someone who is an expert in the field your project intersects with. ‘’In 20-30 years, where is your design going to be? Always ask yourself this question.’’ This ties in closely with the poster question from earlier: we should always think about the future of our designs, because designs that will not survive the changes of times will quickly be left out of attention and lose its effectiveness. ‘’How can we learn from our mistakes in the past?’’ Another valuable lesson every designer should hold dear to their heart is improvement. Design, from what I have learned so far, is a journey rather than a destination. Design always changes and designers unavoidably make mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from the mistakes. So exercise this habit of always asking yourself this question, not only in design but also in other areas of your life ‘’Emotions such as fears and anxiety need to be considered to develop an efficient design.’’ Design serves other people. People are full of emotions. Every action that we take and all the decisions that we make are heavily influenced by what we feel. Therefore, understanding what people could feel in certain situations is a must to becoming a more effective designer and implementing better Wayfinding solutions. ‘’People don’t always do what they say or what you expect them to do. People resist change. The greater the change, the stronger the objection. Therefore, always include people – your clients – in your project to make them feel more secure and safe.’’ Design serves people, but it also influences them. Any kind of influence can be considered a threat on a subconscious level, so it is natural that people might resist changes that design invokes. To solve this, from time to time designers should make people participate in their work to create an inclusive decision-making environment. There are other advantages to having clients help you – you will learn exactly what your clients want and how to create a work that pleases them the most.
These are some of the quotes that I feel are very valuable to learning the gist of Design and Wayfinding. These quotes made me realize the great importance of Design and all its little tricks that I would probably not learn from somewhere else, for which I am very grateful!
Jug Cerovic’s lecture and workshop about map design is one of the most fantastic learning experiences I have ever had. I’m most interested in metro map design and I would like to share my takeaways and thoughts in this essay.
Schematic maps are the most efficient way to represent metro systems. Since most of the subway’s facilities are underground and people can not explore the tunnels on their own, some physical characteristics like distance, direction, and shape become less important. Therefore, when designing a metro map, the path can be simplified. The connection between underground locations and geographic locations on the ground only needs to be roughly represented. The information that people need to know, such as different lines, stations, and ways to transfer, has to be presented in an orderly, clear and concise manner. Motivated by these principles, Cerovic summed up a universal design language and rules for the metro maps. He then designed unified metro maps for more than 50 cities in the world.
Figure 2 Shanghai metro map designed by Jug Cerovic
http://www.inat.fr/metro/shanghai/
As I lived in Shanghai, I’m curious about the difference between the metro map Shanghai uses currently and the map designed by Cerovic. According to my experience of living in Shanghai, I thought the Shanghai map completes the role of navigation and is clear and effective. However, when I compare it to Cerovic’s Shanghai metro map, I realized that it could be much better designed. Comparing the two maps, my immediate impression is that although the two maps show the same amount of information, one is very crowded and cluttered while the other is delightful and concise. How did Cerovic do it? First, he simplified the path of the metro lines, omitting small changes in the path, and using straight lines to represent them. Second, he appropriately expanded the proportion of the central area, giving more space for dense information. Third, he considered the importance of information and uses different colors and sizes to establish hierarchy. Considering that the information-heavy metro map is not suitable for viewing at a distance, he used thinner lines and smaller texts. The blank spaces provide a pleasing visual experience and make it easier for people’s eyes to locate information.
Cerovic’s map even contains more information, including Shanghai highways, famous parks, and the Pearl of the Orient. The application of landmark labels connects the underground metro system to important locations, helping people relate the metro map to their mental maps, and making it easier for people to find their way.
Beyond that, he did an amazing job in defining symmetrical shapes from concrete metro lines. On the current map of Shanghai, I can vaguely find rectangles and grid shapes in the central area. In Cerovic’s design, the rectangle is more conspicuous. The grid is also more organized due to the same distance between lines. The most outstanding design is the water drop shape in the center. The literal translation of the second character in Shanghai (上海) means the sea (海). I don’t know if Cerovic did it on purpose, but the shape of the water drop makes the map strongly associated with Shanghai, in a sense integrating the city’s identity symbol into the map design. This association and transformation are incredible to me.
Also, he could have reduced the pink line (line 13) to a vertical straight line, but he chose to create a memorable shape to add features to the Shanghai metro map. One of my biggest takeaways from his lecture was that one of the essences of design is making choices. Designers choose what information to present, what information to hide, when to incorporate distinctive shapes, and when to apply unity. They choose the balance point between simplicity and redundancy, symbolism and functionality. The choices are made based on context. It is only by investing a great deal of research and practice that we can make reasonable and comprehensive choices.
Entering the last month of this spring semester, I took some time over the Eid break rereading some of the posts made by my peers. Seeing our collective knowledge on wayfinding and design being broadened and applied, one post at a time, further highlights the pervasive nature of design in our daily lives. Blown away by the depth and diversity of the thoughts presented by each post, I wanted to take this time to write about some of the learnings I’ve had from my peers.
Hasin’s writing made me realize how the approach taken in the design process directly affects the quality of work produced. Hasin talks about his creative process that comes from a combination of introspection and giving ideas a physical form, in the form of sketches, scribbles, and lines. These forms might not initially have a clear meaning at the moment of creation but the visualization opens doors to future possibilities for the designer to make sense of their thoughts without relying on memory. This process itself can give rise to new ideas. Seeing the quality of work Hasin produced for his pictogram definitely inspired me to take on a more hands on approach in my next design assignment.
Abdelrahman’s post points out the inability to fully enjoy the convenience and accessibility of artifacts presented by museums, when not given the entire history of how they got there. It is true that artifacts made by humans, whether they are from Egypt, Korea, UAE, etc, tell a story about our collective humanity. But, some artifacts hold more significance to a certain group of people over the other. In most cases, the origin country in which these artifacts were birthed in, used and developed should have ownership over these objects and how their stories are presented to the future generations. If the artifact is displayed elsewhere, an ethical exchange and borrowing of artifacts is crucial to ensure that the origin country does not feel violated and stolen of their precious artifacts. Unfortunately, from history, it is clear that these exchanges did not always occur in ethical ways which provokes a sense of discomfort when encountering artifacts foreign from the location of the museum. It makes us question, “How did it get there?”. Unfortunately, too often, we are not given an honest answer from the beholders. In most cases, the process of how they got there is forgotten and not given enough attention to, perhaps with intention.
I could sense Abdelrahman’s passion for design that stemmed from all the way back in 2013, prior to taking Wayfinding. It was interesting reading how even as a designer who has been active for the past 9 years, one’s idea of what design is and should be is continuously reexamined. The ambiguity of the word “design” provides this flexibility for redefinition based on context. Perhaps the question of what design means and should mean is one that we, as designers, should always ask ourselves and reexamine based on the context in which the design is applied.
Laura’s post further provoked more ethical questions regarding the ownership of artifacts in museums. The line
“But if objects carry these words, these messages, and even lessons about history, adding value to the society of today, one could argue that owning these objects would equal owning history”
made me question, where does the identity of objects lie? Is it simply in the location of residence? The owner? Who owns artifacts?
Considering the change of ownership that occurs throughout history, the narrative containing how artifacts end up on the hands of multiple owners should also be presented and made more transparent by the museum. Presenting the viewers with not only the context of creation and the ways of usage but also how the artifacts have gotten to its current location.
Laura also presents us with the question, “Is history purchasable?”
Let’s say a country managed to purchase an artifact from another country, giving them the right to use and display the artifact freely. Can they truly own this piece of artifact in its entirety? The history stored within the artifact makes it impossible for its previous identity to be fully erased with money as long as we, as viewers, remember it and keep it in our record. Hence, the non-tangible identity and history of the physical artifact seems to retain its value regardless of its physical location as long as the story is remembered and told.
I believe that it is part of the museum’s role to preserve the artifact’s story and history in its entirety, up to the point of how it got to the very museum it is stored in. Laura also points out how “the preservation of history should be the goal regardless of who owns it”. This made me think whether preservation and the act of recording history is always better than having no record? This question becomes even more important for preservation processes that involve stealing and a complete disregard for the ethics of the origin country. Are some artifacts better off not being discovered, protected under the grounds of their origins, until the country is ready to unravel and showcase them at their own pace? Do we always have to adjust to the pace of discovery and preservation of the “faster-developed” countries?
Prior to reading Jennifer’s post, I thought that the usage of analogy, metaphor, and synecdoche was limited to text and speech. Having read her post, I now recognize the power of using them in visual communication to leave a more permanent and striking impact on the viewers. It made me think about how an analogy could be successfully executed in visual form. It seems from the examples presented of the Hiroshima posters, the visual analogy can be supported by text to provide further context of the image. The WWF, on the other hand, provides the context entirely through visuals achieved by including more details onto the abstraction – in this case, adding the individual constituents of the ecosystem, the animals, inside each block of the Jenga to represent the fragility of the ecosystem as a whole. The abstract way of thinking, encouraged by the usage of analogies, metaphors, and synecdoches, in visual form allows room for freedom to be creative in the design process.
To conclude this blog post, I wanted to share some new additions to my campus illustrations series made throughout this semester, inspired by the conscious decision to be more attentive of the physical systems that surround us on a daily basis.
Illustrations of library cafe, market place, high line, blacksmith, campus center, and d2Last one of my campus illustration series 🙂
“Professional development is a collective resource, not a personal prerogative. Peer engagement forges powerful links between teacher learning and student growth”.
— Laura Lipton
The remarkable words by Laura Lipton, the Director of Miravia and an international consultant with extensive research and experience in learning-focused relationships and building high-performing teams, resonate with my personal growth to wherever I stand as of today.
I remember as I was growing up, I was a relatively shy and quiet kid with low self-esteem and confidence, but how I progressed and triggered my personal growth was through learning from my peers. I adapted to the way that my confident peers spoke in the assemblies, started understanding the questions they asked in class, the approach they had towards learning and reading, and consequently I adapted the best of the qualities from everyone around myself. It can be seen in a very similar way to how we adapt to the style and fashion of the people around us, and in fact we also subconsciously adapt to the conceptuality and thought process of the people around us. This is why it is believed that the company of an individual is most likely to influence them and their actions. Thus, I have always firmly believed in being open to having the opportunity to learn from others, since those lessons are unforgettable and undoubtedly help an individual progress towards the better.
Professor Goffredo Puccetti, in his course Wayfinding: Graphic Design in the Built Environment, has also always advocated collaborative learning. I remember from the very first online class, an intriguing lesson was conveyed, first through drafting a presentation in a small group on a topic related to wayfinding and design, having very little in-depth theoretical knowledge of the subject, and this was then followed by a critique on the presentation of others, all of which was supposed to act as a learning experience from others and their mistakes. We had the opportunity to understand the thought process of each individual in our team and become familiar with them, and then mutually come to an understanding to present an idea. After this, we also had the opportunity to understand how other teams tackled a similar change, and what they did better which we could learn from.
“To look at the work of your peers, and learn how to explain with kindness and precision, the nature of their mistakes is, in fact, how you learn to diagnose your own work.” – Steve Almond
Not only did this task act as an Icebreaker between myself, Ulan, and Abdurrahman, but since then I have realized and acknowledged Ulan’s capabilities for thinking of great ideas, and Abdurrahman’s skill set for producing amazing graphics. Throughout the semester, even in every single individual task, assisting others and collaborating with them was never considered cheating or a breach, but in fact it was always regarded as collaborative learning.
This brings me to one of the most intriguing lessons from the course – on the topic of Affordance, and particularly the very specific lecture, on the 15th of February, in which this concept was introduced. First, we were taught that Affordance is the property of objects that defines all possible uses of it and makes clear how it should be, as well as could be used, specifically considering all possible uses and not only the ones we would be thinking of. Then, we were given two tasks in two groups that would have engraved this concept in our minds forever – Goffredo’s Staircase and Roberto’s Piano. I was a part of the group to receive the task of analyzing how to ensure Roberto’s Piano, which was not possible to be moved, could have stayed safe during an extensive renovation of his house.
Being in a team with Ishmal, Yeji, and Jennifer, we applied all possible uses of the packaging of the piano to prevent any damage to it from any mistakes by the workers. I still remember Professor’s remarks during our discussion to allow a chance for those to express their opinions who are not extremely vocal, and just by doing that, we came to the perfect conclusion. A triangular shaped carton at the top of the Piano would reduce any affordance for putting tools on top of the piano, disallowing it to be used as a table, and this idea was coupled with other preventions to reach a perfect conclusion. At this point, instead of thinking who came up with the idea, we all were proud to have given each other the chance to learn and express, and that is how we came to a result that none of us might have if we had worked individually.
Furthermore, collaborating and discussing with others also always help to clear out ideas and come up with new ones. This was the exact case when I was discussing an Impossible Pictogram design, pertaining to sarcastically solving the problem of a lamp covering a physical map on one of campus’ walls, with Ishmal. An idea from her to tear apart the lamp through the gap between the poles by Ishmal, inculcated with the idea of putting dumbbells over there by myself formed a very interesting solution, one I could not have come up with myself. Such engagements were a result of the opportunity provided by Professor Goffredo, and are attributed to the Wayfinding class.
I have had a great amount of learning throughout the semester, and a great deal of it had to do with my peers in this class. Be it the creative spirit when everyone was presenting their ideas about certain topics, or more specifically designing their own maps for Jug Cerovic’s workshop, or even drafting their own pictogram designs. Or be it the style of their presentation when pitching their mobility idea to Giuseppe Atoma, every single individual had their own unique style and outcome. Every single piece of creativity that was put on the wall was distinct and demonstrated the uniqueness of each individual’s thought process. A university like that of NYU Abu Dhabi, where hundreds of nationalities, speaking hundreds of different languages are brought together, a learning experience is cultivated which is beyond any opportunity that is imaginable.
Even outside of the classroom, I believe it is empirical to learn from the diverse people around us. Whether it be to apply for internships or jobs, or it be to do community service, or even learn a very basic skill. I believe that the cumulative experience of the people around us surpasses what we could learn by only surfing the web for information.
“The best part of learning is sharing what you know”.
If truth be told, when I first enrolled in the “Wayfinding: Graphic Design in the Built Environment” course, my only motivation for enrolling was to be done with one of my core requirements. I not only did not have any interest in this topic, I wasn’t even sure what wayfinding actually meant! Though the word itself is pretty self-explanatory, I wondered how is it possible to have a whole course based on simply finding the way?
Only now that I have completed this course, I have not only realized the vastness and significance of this topic, but through Professor Goffredo’s rippling energy throughout the semester, I have actually become passionate about user experience and have acquired a highly observant eye when it comes to wayfinding systems.
While I have already documented my learnings from the topics covered throughout the semester such as principles of affordance and nudges, motivation and convention in pictograms, use of wayfinding strategies, principles of simplicity and redundancy, and more in my previous blogs, I will be highlighting some of the other attributes and experiences that I gained from Wayfinding that I am utterly grateful for.
The first time Professor Goffredo showed us a picture of the inaccessible use of stairs on the beach, none of us had any clue what was wrong with the image. Now, whether it be the buttons on the lift not being accessible, or no sound indicating the arrival of the lift, or lack of braille systems, or only the presence of stairs to reach the Torch Club, or the accessible ramps to the underground markets in Tbilisi that I noticed on my Spring break, accessibility or the lack of it, is the first thing that grabs my attention wherever I go! The course has opened my mind and eyes to think from new perspectives and especially realize the privilege that I have if I couldn’t even notice what was so evidently wrong with the picture.
Similarly, despite having lived on the NYUAD campus for the past 3 years, I wondered how I never noticed the inaccuracies and inefficiencies in the wayfinding system on our campus. However, on the first day of in-person class, when my 3 peers and I were assigned the task of finding the flaws in the wayfinding system from B1 to Torch Club, we were able to gather over 30 flaws in the system! This wasn’t because there were so many, but being a part of a group which possessed such diverse experiences and intellectual backgrounds, enabled us to share our individual experiences, get inspired from each other’s ideas and further continuously build upon them.
Similarly through other group exercises when we had to discover an ideal way to cover up Roberto’s piano to protect it during house renovation, we were able to arrive at the perfect solution – covering it with a large wooden triangle. We were only able to do this by continuously building upon each other’s thoughts. Through these group exercises, I learned that no ideas are “stupid”, actually far from them, and therefore became more confident in my ability to express opinions and share ideas in groups. It is also by working with my peers I attained great knowledge from their personal experiences and skills. I learned how to make simple presentations with great design from Yeji, impactful logos from Abdelrahman, maps from Muskaan, as well as gained so many insights into the wayfinding systems back in their hometowns, ranging from airports, streets and even museums!
Moreover, my experience in this class was further enriched through the opportunity to listen and interact with some of the most renowned wayfinding and design experts, such as Guiseppe Attoma and Jug Cerovic. To be able to directly learn from their first-hand, large-scale, impactful, future proof and global experiences, and through their advice and feedback perfect my own designs and channel out my inner creativity during their workshops, was definitely no less than a privilege.
If I had to volunteer to design and implement signages around campus for a Networking Night hosted by the CDC to guide employers from B1 and Welcome Center to Torch Club, I probably would have never and instead would have thought of it as a “boring task which only involves printing and sticking arrows on the wall”. However, only when I actually partook in this activity after being inspired to implement my learnings from my Wayfinding class, did I realize the extensivity and critical thinking required to effectively accomplish it.
What made the task even more challenging was that we had only 5 signboards which needed to cover the entire area from Welcome Centre to Torch Club, as well as, from B1 to Torch Club. As this was a problem that I had already discussed extensively when I was put in a team with Yeji and Muskaan for our first ever group assignment, I was able to immediately able to present a thorough plan for this to the CDC staff, in fact very similar to our presentation in class to our “client”.
To solve this problem, the CDC initially sent out an email to the employers with a campus map to direct them to enter from the East Parking (so they are closer to the Torch Club with fewer chances of getting lost in the enormous parking lot which barely has any valuable signages). We also highlighted on the map the position of the lift (at the West-most end of B1) so they can take the lift directly to the Torch Club. For greater apprehension of the parking lot, we also put up an overview of the color-coded zones in the parking lot so they could understand their current location in relation to their intended location.
This then allowed us with greater flexibility to utilize most of the sign posts on the way from Welcome center to Torch Club. Out of the 5 we had available, we used an additional one to place right when the employers entered the parking lot to tell them which direction they need to go for the Tawasul Night in case they get confused about East and West wing. The rest of the 4 signages were then placed at every intersection from the Welcome Centre to the Torch Club lift at appropriate distances. In the end, it was very rewarding to know that none of the 30 employers had any difficulty in finding their way to their destination.
So to conclude, whether it be any casual detail mentioned by my peers, or Professor Goffredo’s flat tire game or 1 minute rapid presentations, every small detail and interaction eventually led up to allowing me the courage and potential to take authority and implement such a project to perfection. As Darren Hardy once said,
“It’s not the big things that add up in the end; it’s the hundreds, thousands, or millions of little things that separate the ordinary from the extraordinary.”
As I write my final blog post for the semester, it is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of the fourteen weeks of Wayfinding. At this realization, I am met with a range of emotions: sadness, excitement, gratefulness, and motivation, to list a few. But, I suppose the notion of wayfinding does not end as these fourteen weeks do. Wayfinding is everywhere; from along the Highline to on the busy city roads to inside metro stations and shopping malls, to even digital means. This class helped me recognize the weight wayfinding design carries. In addition to the ever-presence of wayfinding, there are some takeaways from this class that I will take with me beyond this classroom. I want to share my most important one: what I learned from my peers.
Before I begin enumerating some snippets of what my peers have taught me, I want to give a little tribute to Professor Goffredo. From the very first virtual class, Professor Goffredo has been imparting little words of wisdom here and there. ‘Life Lessons with Professor Goffredo,” if you will. Yes, I have coined the term now. Anyway, one of the first “Life Lessons” Professor Goffredo gave to the class is one that has stuck with me. He said something along the lines of that people, in general, invest so much money, so much time, and so many resources into trying to bring together a diverse group of people; diverse in terms of financial background, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, political beliefs, etc. All we have to do is go to the D2 dining hall. Our wayfinding class has proven to be an obvious example of this.
It was from Ishmal that I realized the importance of universality in pictogram design. She highlighted to there is a balance needed between consistency for clarity and brand identity in terms of pictograms through her analysis of the unique set of pictograms designed for Expo 2020 Dubai. Perhaps pictograms are not the place for companies to be reinventing the wheel as they can leave users even more confused. On a side note, she also taught me how getting on the wrong bus in Florence can push you to discover a whole new part of the city – and put you even further away from your intended destination.
It was from Jennifer that I truly comprehended the notion of affordance and nudges in wayfinding design. Through sharing her experience at Umm Al Emarat Park, she highlighted the discrepancy between what the design of the environment allows the user to do and what the user is actually permitted to do (in this case, according to the security guard). But if I am able to stand on the slabs of concrete on the water, they probably want me to, right? Jennifer also did an in-depth analysis of Olympic pictograms. This blog post of hers was super useful for me to generate ideas for my own impossible pictogram – so thank you, Jennifer!
It was from Laura and her experience navigating through the Istanbul Airport during a layover that brought valuable insight into the necessary features of airport wayfinding systems. Big, clear, and visible signage systems, useful and conventional pictograms, an intuitive layout, and accessible pathways are all important components of such a system. Especially with so many people traveling in and out of this airport from all around the world, it is important that the airport functions seamlessly to avoid frustrating, and costly, complications.
It was from Yeji that I was compelled to make more of a conscious effort to be more attentive to my surroundings, and from a multi-faceted perspective. In terms of design, this finding has helped me make sure I keep the user experience in mind – in whatever form that may be. For instance, designing for accessibility, intuitiveness, comfort, ease, etc. Moreover, this attentiveness has also prompted me to take a step back more often to pause and just be more attentive to the world around me. Just as she did with her amazing drawings!
It was through Hasin that I learned the power of tactile brainstorming. Perhaps this is another one of Professor Goffredo’s life lessons. Hasin covered entire whiteboards with sketches, drawings, and brainstorms of ideas for his impossible pictogram. When I felt stuck and felt like I had run out of ideas, I went to him for help and the advice he gave me was to keep sketching…in a tactile form (on paper, the whiteboard, etc). It was eye-opening to observe the process of how an idea can evolve and develop as you continue to draw it and work with it in different ways.
It was through Zunair that I was able to broaden my definition of wayfinding to include online wayfinding as well as broaden my definition of online wayfinding itself. I was under the impression that online wayfinding entailed applications such as Google Maps or Waze. After reading Zunair’s blog, however, I realized that navigating through all kinds of applications and websites are also forms of digital wayfinding. This is especially important with the rapid development and growth of technology, even more so in a pandemic/post-pandemic society.
It was through Ulan that I have become less naive to the effect that advertisements have on me. I know to be wary of tactics employed heavily by the advertisement industry such as the attractiveness bias or the familiarity which help in persuading consumers to purchase the product/service being advertised. It is quite scary to know that through these methods, industries as such have the power to shape societal norms and behaviors and subtly mold the mindsets of consumers.
It was through Abdulrahman that I was able to ask for help more comfortably. Abdulrahman and I sat next to each other throughout the semester. Thus, he was naturally the first person I would turn to ask for feedback on an idea, to ask for help in navigating software like Photoshop or Illustrator, to test out my ‘Cheat Sheet,’ etc. I will admit that all this required me to change my mindset and push myself outside my comfort zone. I had to realize and internalize the notion that asking for help is not a sign of weakness or incompetence, but a request for more information and knowledge.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg. I can not list every single thing I have learned from each of my peers, but I hope this provided a little insight. I have learned so much from those around me and have grown tremendously because of it. My knowledge of wayfinding design has grown, my ability to effectively communicate visually and verbally has expanded, and my capacity to ask questions and for help has developed by many, many folds. All in all, I have been prompted to reflect on my time at NYUAD thus far and grown to appreciate the interactions I have had with the diverse student body to a whole new level. The fact that such diversity is so readily available to us is incredible and this class has allowed me to be grateful for the space I hold here – and what I can do with it.
