Examples of Site Logic
Here are some tips from Linda Demmers to help you think through good navigation and wayfinding design ideas for your library. The photos are from recently constructed public library facilities in California.
Wayfinding is so much more than signs on the walls. Good design provides navigational clues, in addition to graphics, signage, and maps, which begin at the user’s arrival. While signage is typically added at the end of a project, wayfinding, or site logic, should be addressed collaboratively in the earliest planning stages. Extensive signage systems cannot overcome a site that is not logical. A good building should be easy to use!
Tools that are available to help users find their way through unfamiliar environments and that can mold user behavior within the environment include lighting, floor materials, color, color-coding, finish materials, and ceiling treatment. Floor treatment can be used to distinguish public from staff areas, to create a path to a special area, to define a queuing area, or to define a specific space without walls or signage.
Establish consistency in the location of customer service centers that combine site maps, copy and print facilities, self-service centers, and in-house telephones.