This city is the largest city in the United States and one of the biggest urban agglomerations in the world. Smart people have calculated that New York is home to about 150 different nations. In 2010, it was visited by 48.7 million tourists, including 39 million Americans and 9.7 million - from other countries. New York is the most attractive city for tourists coming to America from abroad.
As a result, question about simple and easy wayfinding system in the city, is one of the most important. Being a tourist in New York in 2012 years, I can say that the city did not have enough boards, signs and maps, understandable for all.
1. What is Wayfinding?
The goal of a wayfinding system is to enhance an environment by guiding users to and from their destination of choice via an easy-to-understand, attractive guide or wayfinding system.
A wayfinding system, however, includes more than signage. It may also include:
Landscape architecture, foliage, site topography
Interior design and lighting, colour and textures
Developing a careful understanding of all human, operational and administrative needs
When properly developed, the core elements of a wayfinding program work together to assist users in:
Knowing where they are
Identifying their destination and following the best route
Recognizing their destination upon arrival; and
Safely returning back to their point origin.
To solve this problem the New York Department of Transportation launched its WalkNYC program in the summer of 2013 to "provide a clear visual language and graphic standards that can be universally understood, encourage walking and transit usage by offering quality multi-modal information, and provide consistent information across a broad range of environments in the city." Lauded design firm Pentagram's PentaCityGroup developed the identity.
2. What is WalkNYC?
WalkNYC is New York City's standard for pedestrian wayfinding. WalkNYC provides a clear visual language and graphic standards that can be universally understood, encourages walking and transit usage by providing quality multi-modal information, and provides consistent information across a broad range of environments in the city. The first WalkNYC signs are being installed during the Summer of 2013 in four areas of the City.
New York City is well-known as a walking city, but pedestrian-oriented information is difficult to find and inconsistent where available. The City's streets are a mix of named and numbered streets, with a variety of building numbering conventions, with street grids merging at confusing angles. Even Manhattan's simple street grid is difficult to navigate when emerging from a subway station or transit hub. While the City has many signs directing drivers, these provide very little benefit to pedestrians. The goal of WalkNYC is to remedy this information and navigation gap.
3. How does it work?
In each of the four initial areas, DOT worked with community partners to identify, research, and observe the popular destinations, primary pedestrian routes, and key decision-making points of each neighborhood. Through careful research, DOT also located the difficult-to-navigate parts of each neighborhood, focusing on the routes between transit services, landmarks and public spaces.
This research created a detailed picture of each area, which DOT used to tailor a placement strategy. The research also forms the basis of the site location and network planning standard that will be applied citywide. DOT has developed a variety of sign sizes to accommodate different environments.
WalkNYC maps are also installed at Citi Bike station kiosks, to expand the wayfinding network and provide valuable information for pedestrians, in addition to Citi Bike users.
The four initial areas and community partners for WalkNYC are:
Chinatown with the Chinatown Partnership and the Chinatown BID
Long Island City with the LIC Partnership
Herald Square with the 34th Street Partnership and the Garment District with the Fashion Center BID
Prospect Heights and Crown Heights with the Heart of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Sign Features
WalkNYC signs provide valuable information, from basic cardinal directions and street names to mapped details like subway entrances and Wi-Fi hotspots. The maps are rotated “heads-up” or forward-facing to show the street network as it appears in front of you. Research and user testing demonstrate that this method is more accessible for people who are unfamiliar with their surroundings or have trouble reading maps. The MTA operates the subway system, issues MetroCards, and operates the Metro-North and Long Island Railroads.
Pentagram helped create the graphic language of the maps, working on the project as part of PentaCityGroup, a special consortium of designers that also includes wayfinding specialists CityID, industrial designers Billings Jackson Design, engineers and urban planners RBA Group, and cartographers and geographic information specialists T-Kartor. The team worked closely with DOT and the city’s local Business Improvement Districts (BID) and other institutions and agencies to develop the program.
The maps are designed to encourage people to walk, bike and use public transit, and feature all local streets and major landmarks and destinations, as well as bike lanes. The kiosks will be located near subway stations, business districts and other high-traffic pedestrian areas, and the DOT is working with the Metropolitan Transit Authority to install the new maps in subway stations and at Select Bus Service stops.
Each side of the 8 ½ foot tall kiosks displays a large map of the streets within a 5-minute walking distance and another map showing the area in relation to a larger section of the city. The orientation of the WalkNYC maps uses “heads-up mapping,” in which north, south, east or west is rotated to correspond with the direction the user is facing. (If you’re facing south in Manhattan, the top of the map is downtown, and the bottom is uptown; on the other side of the map, the information is reversed.) The design was extensively tested with pedestrians, who found it easy to use; in the city, it is often hard to know which direction one is facing. (One study by the DOT found a third of New Yorkers didn’t know how to find north.)
Pentagram designed a unique system of icons for the maps, including the drawings of the landmark buildings. The graphics use a custom version of Helvetica created by Monotype for the program. Helvetica was chosen to complement the iconic graphic language of the New York City subway system, originally developed by Massimo Vignelli and Robert Noorda at Unimark. WalkNYC’s customized version, Helvetica DOT, makes all of the font’s square dots round, giving the program its own unique look.
A range of kiosk and signage types have been designed for the various urban environments and locations around the city (at intersections, mid-block, in plazas, etc.) The maps are printed on clear vinyl, which is applied to the second surface of the glass. The vinyl is easily removed and the glass reused for any updates to the map.
In general, it is quite strong and thoughtful design. Many cities of the world have to have the same system of navigation. The only weakness of this project, in my opinion, that could be done branded wayfinding systems and integrate maps of familiar names such brands as McDonald's restaurant, Starbucks Store.
As a result, question about simple and easy wayfinding system in the city, is one of the most important. Being a tourist in New York in 2012 years, I can say that the city did not have enough boards, signs and maps, understandable for all.
1. What is Wayfinding?
The goal of a wayfinding system is to enhance an environment by guiding users to and from their destination of choice via an easy-to-understand, attractive guide or wayfinding system.
A wayfinding system, however, includes more than signage. It may also include:
Landscape architecture, foliage, site topography
Interior design and lighting, colour and textures
Developing a careful understanding of all human, operational and administrative needs
When properly developed, the core elements of a wayfinding program work together to assist users in:
Knowing where they are
Identifying their destination and following the best route
Recognizing their destination upon arrival; and
Safely returning back to their point origin.
To solve this problem the New York Department of Transportation launched its WalkNYC program in the summer of 2013 to "provide a clear visual language and graphic standards that can be universally understood, encourage walking and transit usage by offering quality multi-modal information, and provide consistent information across a broad range of environments in the city." Lauded design firm Pentagram's PentaCityGroup developed the identity.
2. What is WalkNYC?
WalkNYC is New York City's standard for pedestrian wayfinding. WalkNYC provides a clear visual language and graphic standards that can be universally understood, encourages walking and transit usage by providing quality multi-modal information, and provides consistent information across a broad range of environments in the city. The first WalkNYC signs are being installed during the Summer of 2013 in four areas of the City.
New York City is well-known as a walking city, but pedestrian-oriented information is difficult to find and inconsistent where available. The City's streets are a mix of named and numbered streets, with a variety of building numbering conventions, with street grids merging at confusing angles. Even Manhattan's simple street grid is difficult to navigate when emerging from a subway station or transit hub. While the City has many signs directing drivers, these provide very little benefit to pedestrians. The goal of WalkNYC is to remedy this information and navigation gap.
3. How does it work?
In each of the four initial areas, DOT worked with community partners to identify, research, and observe the popular destinations, primary pedestrian routes, and key decision-making points of each neighborhood. Through careful research, DOT also located the difficult-to-navigate parts of each neighborhood, focusing on the routes between transit services, landmarks and public spaces.
This research created a detailed picture of each area, which DOT used to tailor a placement strategy. The research also forms the basis of the site location and network planning standard that will be applied citywide. DOT has developed a variety of sign sizes to accommodate different environments.
WalkNYC maps are also installed at Citi Bike station kiosks, to expand the wayfinding network and provide valuable information for pedestrians, in addition to Citi Bike users.
The four initial areas and community partners for WalkNYC are:
Chinatown with the Chinatown Partnership and the Chinatown BID
Long Island City with the LIC Partnership
Herald Square with the 34th Street Partnership and the Garment District with the Fashion Center BID
Prospect Heights and Crown Heights with the Heart of Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Sign Features
WalkNYC signs provide valuable information, from basic cardinal directions and street names to mapped details like subway entrances and Wi-Fi hotspots. The maps are rotated “heads-up” or forward-facing to show the street network as it appears in front of you. Research and user testing demonstrate that this method is more accessible for people who are unfamiliar with their surroundings or have trouble reading maps. The MTA operates the subway system, issues MetroCards, and operates the Metro-North and Long Island Railroads.
Pentagram helped create the graphic language of the maps, working on the project as part of PentaCityGroup, a special consortium of designers that also includes wayfinding specialists CityID, industrial designers Billings Jackson Design, engineers and urban planners RBA Group, and cartographers and geographic information specialists T-Kartor. The team worked closely with DOT and the city’s local Business Improvement Districts (BID) and other institutions and agencies to develop the program.
The maps are designed to encourage people to walk, bike and use public transit, and feature all local streets and major landmarks and destinations, as well as bike lanes. The kiosks will be located near subway stations, business districts and other high-traffic pedestrian areas, and the DOT is working with the Metropolitan Transit Authority to install the new maps in subway stations and at Select Bus Service stops.
Each side of the 8 ½ foot tall kiosks displays a large map of the streets within a 5-minute walking distance and another map showing the area in relation to a larger section of the city. The orientation of the WalkNYC maps uses “heads-up mapping,” in which north, south, east or west is rotated to correspond with the direction the user is facing. (If you’re facing south in Manhattan, the top of the map is downtown, and the bottom is uptown; on the other side of the map, the information is reversed.) The design was extensively tested with pedestrians, who found it easy to use; in the city, it is often hard to know which direction one is facing. (One study by the DOT found a third of New Yorkers didn’t know how to find north.)
Pentagram designed a unique system of icons for the maps, including the drawings of the landmark buildings. The graphics use a custom version of Helvetica created by Monotype for the program. Helvetica was chosen to complement the iconic graphic language of the New York City subway system, originally developed by Massimo Vignelli and Robert Noorda at Unimark. WalkNYC’s customized version, Helvetica DOT, makes all of the font’s square dots round, giving the program its own unique look.
A range of kiosk and signage types have been designed for the various urban environments and locations around the city (at intersections, mid-block, in plazas, etc.) The maps are printed on clear vinyl, which is applied to the second surface of the glass. The vinyl is easily removed and the glass reused for any updates to the map.
In general, it is quite strong and thoughtful design. Many cities of the world have to have the same system of navigation. The only weakness of this project, in my opinion, that could be done branded wayfinding systems and integrate maps of familiar names such brands as McDonald's restaurant, Starbucks Store.
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