Where am I? What can I do here? Where can I go from here? How do I get out of here?
Consciously or not, we ask such questions every day as we navigate the places and spaces of our lives. Whether we find ourselves in a museum, hospital, airport, mall, or street in an unfamiliar city, we depend on systems of visual, audible, and tactile cues not only to lead the way, but also to keep us safe. They are the fundamental questions of wayfindinga process that encompasses both the experience of choosing a path within a built environment and the set of design elements that aid in such a decision. A decade ago, the professional practice of wayfinding design simply involved devising sign systems. Today, the field is much broader and continues to expand to address technological developmentskinetic media, GPS systems, web connectivity, smart materialsas well as cultural changes in areas such as branding and environmental awareness. Similarly, a cross-disciplinary familiarity with graphic, architectural, landscape, interior, industrial, and information design has become an essential requirement of twenty-first-century wayfinding design.
The Wayfinding Handbook is an exciting new volume in our acclaimed Design Briefs series. Professional wayfinding designer David Gibson draws on more than thirty years of experience collaborating with architects, planners, developers, managers, and civic leaders to offer an insider's view of this rapidly evolving discipline. Using real-life examples, Gibson illustrates the way type, color, mapmaking, dimensional forms, material selection, and new media are used to create effective wayfinding systems.
The Wayfinding Handbook is a complete guide to the discipline, from planning and design to practical considerations, such as setting up teams and managing projects. Other Voices" sidebars, presentedthroughout the book, reveal the opinions of experts who plan, manage, and shape wayfinding projects. A comprehensive bibliography and gallery of resources round out what is likely to become the go-to resource for students, professionals, or anyone charged with designing people-friendly, universally accessible environments."
Author Biography:
David Gibson is co-founder and managing principal of Two Twelve. His dedication to delivering thoughtful, user-centered design established the firm's reputation as the first advocate of public information design, the planning and presentation of complex information to diverse audiences.
Instrumental in developing Two Twelve's strength in environmental graphics, Gibson is responsible for some of the firm's highest profile projects including signage and wayfinding for Hartford, Downtown Baltimore, Downtown Brooklyn, and Yale University; signage and graphics for the historic Radio City Music Hall and New Amsterdam Theatre; and master planning and environmental graphic design for Harvard Medical School affiliates, Children's Hospital Boston, and Massachusetts General Hospital. He is currently creating wayfinding programs for the Princeton University and The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a city-wide signage program for the Durham Parks and Recreation Department in North Carolina.
Gibson studied architecture at Cornell University, attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, and received an MFA in graphic design from the Yale University School of Art. He began his career as a project designer for the Ontario Ministry of National Resources.
