Warning! People don’t read signs

We’ve been working on, and tendering for, a number of wayfinding projects lately, which have sparked a lot of conversations around what wayfinding actually is, and what it isn’t.

People often mistake wayfinding for signage. But signage is just one part of the picture, and often the last layer. The reality is most people don’t actually read signs! Not fully. Not unless they’re lost, unsure, or under pressure to make a quick decision.

That’s why wayfinding is never just about signage. And it’s why intuitive design matters more than anything else.

If the layout is confusing, if decisions aren’t supported by spatial cues, no amount of signage will fix it. You can’t design a space in isolation and then “add wayfinding” at the end. It just doesn’t work.

The goal is for people to know where to go without having to think too hard. That takes planning. It takes insight into how people move, what they notice, and what they don’t.

It also means recognising the difference between a signage contractor and a wayfinding consultant. One fabricates signs. The other helps shape how people experience a space, often before the first sign is ever drawn.

Wayfinding should feel effortless. That’s when you know it’s working.