DEFINITION
Way.finding
Part of speech: noun
Definition: signs, maps, and other graphic or audible methods used to
convey location and directions to travelers; also written way-finding
Etymology: coined in 1960 by architect Kevin Lynch
Dictionary.com‘s 21st Century Lexicon
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Accessed 6/29/09
Wayfinding encompasses all of the ways in which people and animals
orient themselves in physical space and navigate from place to place.
Wayfinding is often used to refer to traditional navigation methods
used by indigenous peoples. In more modern times, wayfinding is used
in the context of architecture to refer to the user experience of orienta-
tion and choosing a path within the built environment, and it also re-
fers to the set of architectural and/or design elements that aid orienta-
tion.
Urban planner Kevin A. Lynch coined the term in his 1960 book Image
of the City, where he defined wayfinding as ―a consistent use and or-
ganization of definite sensory cues from the external environment‖. In
1984 environmental psychologist Romedi Passini published the full-
length "Wayfinding in Architecture" and expanded the concept to in-
clude signage and other graphic communication, clues inherent in the
building's spatial grammar, logical space planning, audible communi-
cation, tactile elements, and provision for special-needs users.
Historically, wayfinding refers to the techniques used by travelers
over land and sea to find relatively unmarked and often mislabeled
routes. These include but are not limited to dead reckoning, map and
compass, astronomical positioning and, more recently, global position-
ing.
This term is also used in reference to parking management strategies
that help drivers find parking garages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayfinding
Accessed 6/29/09
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