Notes > Five Steps to Wayfinding
You can think of Wayfinding as a five step process. It starts with knowing where you are. It means knowing your destination, following the best route to your destination, being able to recognise your destination, and finding your way back to your starting point.
Sound simple enough, what struck me though was what a simple set of instructions it offers in architecture and interface design and how important accessibility and usability are in achieving findability.
Carpman outlines a five step process for Wayfinding that offers a concise breakdown of the key components needed when planning for architecture and interface design:
- Knowing where you are:
What proportion of users access a site beneath the homepage? In-bound links direct to content e.g. via sub-pages indexed by a search engine need clear signs to allow users to identify which site they are on, where they are in the sites structure and what routes are available from there. Easy jumps to homepage, section index and search features provide a range of options for escape routes.
- Knowing your destination:
Clearly defined paths and routes, supported with search, sitemap and other Wayfinding tools
- Following the best route to your destination:
Being able to clearly see and choose the route to the content you require understanding its location within the site hierarchy with feedback at each stage to what you have done and where you've come from.
- Being able to recognise your destination:
knowing when youve got there, using descriptive markers and design to identify location within site, independent of route to content.
- Finding your way back to the starting point:
Looks like the Back button is still the most popular option for navigating the Net.
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08 Nov | Filed in Articles
