Finding the way

Getting lost is a common if frustrating experience in the UAE, but as the region expands, can it do so without upgrading its signage? Michele Howe investigates.

Go to area X, take the first street on the left, turn right, take the intersection of road 15 and road 10, take the street on the right, pass the mosque and you're there...every resident in the UAE has had the experience of being given directions that leave them utterly clueless as to how to get to their destination.

Directions that leave them feeling not merely frustrated, but confused, bewildered, disoriented. You soon get used to it and accept it as one of the idiosyncrasies of life in the UAE.

But imagine you are a business visitor over for an important meeting, living in the US or Europe, and used to being able to get to a location with just a street name or PO Box address.

You spend hours driving around trying to find a company's location or more likely getting increasingly wound up as a hapless taxi driver tries to find your destination, before eventually arriving late, sweaty and frankly not in the best of moods. It hardly gets the meeting off to a good start.

Exterior signage and wayfinding is one of those overlooked but fundamental elements that make a city work. So it is welcome news indeed that Dubai's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) is revamping its address system to make it easier for people to get around Dubai.

The authority is implementing a revised addressing system that will use street names instead of the present number system. The system will be tested in Jumeirah 3. The existing road signage system will also be revised, with forward directional signboards added to facilitate exits from main roads.

Signage clutter

More functional exterior signage is needed not just for navigation around the city, but also for smaller scale communities, as well as for individual resorts. Sajjad Mamdani, vice president marketing, of Sign Works, a Dubai-offshoot of a US-based signage manufacturer, which has been operating in the region for a year, says that it has had ‘tremendous interest' in its signage and wayfinding services.

We had a lot more enquiries than expected in the first year," he says.

Better signage and wayfinding is essential to support the region's growing presence as a business community, he says. "It is definitely important because in order to have a presence, you have to be able to get to that location.

Not everybody can be on Sheikh Zayed road. I think it is very important to have wayfinding, especially directional wayfinding within these localities that are popping up left right and centre," he says.

At present, there is a lot of signage clutter, he states, random signs and little evidence of a proper wayfinding strategy, particularly in dense business sites such as Dubai Internet City or Dubai Media City.

This is partly because there is still a lack of awareness as to the importance of wayfinding and signage, according to Mamdani.

"There still needs to be more awareness by the developers, and if the developers know, I don't think that information has been disseminated down to the decision makers," he comments.

Beyond functionality

There are three principal types of signage: identificational, directional, and informational.

All are needed in a functional wayfinding plan, says Lara Farnham, creative head environmental graphics and branding at UK-based multi-disciplinary design agency Portland Design.

Beyond functionality, one thing the signage expert tries to do is to communicate brand expression through signage, she says.

"What we do is look at the signs and use them to ensure that [the project] is well route planned and that people have the information they need, but above that it is saying how can these signs form a true brand expression within an environment," she says.

"Signage needs to respond to the architecture, the use of the environment and then you put it in a wider scope, like the location and the culture, and how people are perceiving the information. We need to understand the nuances of how people think and operate," she continues.

One of Portland Design's biggest projects in the region is the wayfinding and signage design programme that it did for the Al Ain Desert Wildlife Park.

In addition to using signage as a navigation system, the company made signage part of the experience of the visit. For instance, at the washrooms, it presented information about the female sea lion cleaning itself rather than just using standard male or female signs.

Given enough scope for creativity, signage can even become an attraction in itself, notes Farnham.

"We often talk about signs becoming buildings which is when you talk about wayfinding. It's saying it's above a sign, this is about a landmark, a gesture, it's about how far can you push scale, how far can you push colour, how far can you make statements," she says. The metro signs of London, UK, for example, are a case in point.

Wayfinding

Wayfinding is a key element of exterior signage. Jonathon Mugmon, senior associate of Glatting Jackson Kercher Anglin, defines wayfinding as ‘the organised movement of people through a complex environment, whether on foot, cycle or by car.'

When a user enters an unfamiliar area, even the simplest settings can present a jumble of information that the user must sort and process before understanding it.

A good wayfinding system makes an environment understandable and easy to navigate, and makes the journey enjoyable. It welcomes users, helps them experience the area in a positive way, and reassures them that they are heading in the right direction," Mugmon says.

Proper signage and wayfinding systems are something that we generally take for granted - until we don't have them. But the consequences of an inadequate signage system are much greater than momentary frustration or wasted time.

"Ineffective wayfinding systems can make visitors feel uncomfortable or insecure, and less likely to visit again. Poorly designed wayfinding systems or signs can also increase the risk of accidents," says Mugmon.

Good wayfinding systems, by contrast, ease drivers through tiers of decisions, providing only the information needed for the driver to make the next decision.

Taking into account the local culture of a location is also key in devising a proper wayfinding system, he adds. In the UAE, for example, it is important to produce signs in both Arabic and English.

Poor signage doesn't just make it difficult for people to find a location, but also means that once a person gets to their destination they may not be able to realise all that it has to offer.

In a region poised for expansion, installing proper signage and wayfinding is no longer merely a good idea, but something that has become an absolute must.