The last time you met a friend in a busy town, did you spend 5 minutes spinning around trying to explain to them where you were standing over the phone or did you ping them your location in a quick message? Probably the latter, right? This is just the tip of the iceberg in what it means to have navigation at the tips of our fingers. Navigation technology is a huge deal in the wayfinding world right now because it makes life easy and convenient (and humans LOVE easy and convenient). So, wayfinding leaders must continue to integrate digital navigation seamlessly into visitor’s lives.
As we humans love easy and convenient things so much, the personal technology sources we own (such as smartphones and wearables) have started to become an extension of our beings. This has led to a major increase in “head down behaviour”, where our eyes are mostly fixed to little screens rather than looking around our environments and surroundings.
This must change how we position our wayfinding elements in physical spaces, from signage locations to navigation information. It is important for the digital and virtual worlds (where humans are increasingly ‘living’) to connect with the physical world (where our business spaces are). So, we must make technology an extension of our businesses and spaces to continue to connect and engage with our visitors.
These developing technologies have an even greater purpose in making your space accessible to new visitors. Not only can they help to further engage with current visitors but they can open your space up to be more inclusive for people with physical disabilities. It’s important to remember that, when integrating the technologies into your wayfinding, they must be accessible and legible for all potential users. A good example of this is ibeacon, which is innovating in the collaboration of smartphone apps and walking/navigation instructions for the visually impaired.
Taking navigation that step further into the future means integrating that “head down” behaviour with a “head up” behaviour. Think of it as catching visitors’ attention when their heads are down in their technology, then encouraging them to look up and engage with your space. Essentially, we’re looking to achieve a new “heads half up half down” behaviour! So how can we get there? Taking our wayfinding and navigation into experiential and immersive realms by leveraging technology! A great way to do this is by incorporating Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality in your wayfinding design. This opens up endless opportunities to connect and engage with the visitor which will also improve their experience. For example, integrating digital solutions that interact and interplay with physical signage. AR and AI in navigation has been on the increase across a range of industries, including banking, travel and healthcare.
The integration will be key to ensure your wayfinding design is fully functional and accessible. If you’re looking for advice on how to do this effectively, we are always on hand to help you out. Give us a call, we’d love to support you in your next wayfinding project!