Artful Direction
Wayfinding | Accessibility Design
The Lamar Dodd School of Art (the Dodd) at the University of Georgia provides a safe place for expression for all but with so many resources and access to materials, the school is known for being difficult to navigate. With little to no wayfinding signage, students and visitors can only rely on small posters hung irregularly throughout the building that highlight the difference of the North and South wings with illegible text from far distances.
Co-Designing Wayfinding
As a school that promotes students' freedom of expression and inclusivity how is it that the Dodd is so hard to navigate? How far does inclusivity go? How would someone who is visually impaired be able to navigate the Dodd?
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Hypothesis: The current wayfinding signage at the art school makes navigating difficult not only for those who are new to the school to navigate through the building, but even more difficult for those who are visually impaired.
19/25
Students found current signage misleading.
23/25
Students struggled to navigate the Dodd building.
17/25
Students had been late to new classes or meetings due to signage.
Co-Designing Methods
1. Survey Questions
- Are you an art student or have classes in the Dodd?
- Do you find the current wayfinding signage in the Dodd building clear and easy to understand?
- Which floors in the Dodd building do you find the most challenging to navigate?
- Have you ever missed an important event or appointment in the Dodd building due to difficulties in finding your way?
- Have you ever experienced difficulty finding your way in the Dodd building due to inadequate signage?
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2. Shadowing
- Timed a volunteer visually impaired with -3.25 diopters in both eyes (nearsighted) with a realistic art student schedule
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3. Interview Post Shadow
- "There is no obvious distinction between the North and South wings making it hard to recognize if I was even going the right way for most of the time."
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Average time to find each classroom
4 m 53 s
Time to find the elevator
6 m 38 s
Solution
Color | Contrast | Scale | QR Codes | Unique, Engaging System
The Dodd was built to maximize daylight at all times of the day with sunlight. This was incorporated into the design to create a cohesive system between the signage and it's building.
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The light shining through the windows acts as art itself, changing shadows as the sun moves throughout the day, painting silhouettes. Also allowing for more contrast with those with low vision.
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Non-invasive QR codes were also worked into the design to create a more inclusive environment for those completely blind giving audio overviews of each hallway and directions to key locations.
Textured lines add tactility to the design allowing for cane users to follow all the way to their destination. The lines also lead to colored doorways creating visual interest that makes visitors drawn towards the rooms and their respective numbers
