A recording of this presentation can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/106093895
Locating a specific room at the University of South Wales (USW) is a challenge. Students can often be found lost and bewildered, wandering corridors in the vain hope of alighting upon their intended destination. Staff, new and old, struggle as well, missing meetings or turning up late, frustrated, flustered and flummoxed. Wayfinding in a large, multi-site, geographically disparate institution has inherent challenges. And then there are the 'improvements' that fail to consider the impact on wayfinding and make navigation harder.
This is the story of how USW is making it easier for staff and students to locate rooms and get to lectures or meetings on time through its new FindARoom service. Using responsive, multi-device, multi-platform web technology, FindARoom delivers an elegant, visual solution.
Tardy staff and students will still have a problem though, as "I couldn't find the room" will no longer be a valid excuse for turning up late.
Architects designing from scratch consider wayfinding, wayshowing, flow of people.
Many buildings extended, or formed from amalgamation of two existing buildings. Causes problems for wayfinding.
Rooms hidden inside other rooms.
Restricted access to staff only interferes with wayfinding.
Result of organic growth of university. Somewhat forgivable.
Topography has an effect here too
Users on 2nd floor must descend to 1st floor then re-ascend to reach the other half of 2nd floor
