Orientation strategy
An orientation strategy is the wayfinding framework of a building: the spatial model, visit scenarios, the visitor's orientation model, the structure of zones and routes, decision points and the information links between them. The strategy answers how the building should explain itself to a person — before the first mock-up of a carrier exists.
Key facts
- What it is
- A wayfinding framework: the logic of orientation before any carriers appear
- The core document
- A map of decision points with the message required at each one
- Why it stands alone
- It lets the logic of orientation be agreed with architects, IT and operations before design costs are incurred
- Input
- A wayfinding accessibility audit, or the client's own survey
What the work includes
- Visit scenarios by type of visitor
- A spatial model of the building: zones, levels, connections, restrictions
- The Human Orientation Model
- Primary and alternative routes
- A map of decision, confirmation and recovery points
- A zoning system and a glossary of terminology
- Requirements for every component of the environment's information layer
Which buildings this suits
- Wayfinding for clinics and medical centres
- Wayfinding for universities and campuses
- Wayfinding for airports, stations and transport hubs
Why there is a stage between the audit and the design
The audit shows where and why orientation breaks down. Design answers what the message looks like. Between them sits a layer of decisions that usually never becomes a document and is therefore argued over at every sign-off: how the building divides into zones, what those zones are called, which route counts as primary, where a person is obliged to decide and what confirms that decision.
The strategy makes that layer explicit. Its value is that at this level decisions are still cheap to change: renaming a zone in a table costs incomparably less than remaking forty carriers, the website and the call-centre script after it turns out the name does not work.
What the strategy contains
The strategy describes the building and the person at the same time, because orientation exists only where they meet. On the building side it fixes the spatial model: zones, entrances, levels, connections between wings, access restrictions, flows and decision points. On the human side it fixes the orientation model: what the person knows before entering, what they expect, which hypotheses they form and which cues they rely on.
Combining the two models produces the main working document — the map of decision points. For each point it defines which message has to be conveyed, which type of visitor it addresses, and what confirms the choice further along the route.
- Visit scenarios: who comes, with what task and with what starting knowledge
- The spatial model: zones, levels, connections, restrictions, flows
- An orientation model for each type of visitor
- Primary and alternative routes, including the way back
- Decision, confirmation and recovery points
- A zoning system and a glossary for every point of contact
The glossary is the most underrated part
If a booking message says «Blood sampling room», the sign says «Treatment room» and the door says «Laboratory», the visitor concludes they need three different places. None of those texts is wrong in itself: the error exists only where they meet, which is exactly why nobody inside the organisation notices it.
The glossary fixes a single name for each zone and propagates it to every point of contact: signs, documents, the website, the queue system, text messages, the speech of reception and the call centre. This fix costs almost nothing and takes effect before any carrier has been made.
Frequently asked questions
Can we commission a strategy without an audit?
You can, if you have your own survey: plans, a description of visit scenarios and a list of known problems. But the visitor's orientation model still has to be built — without it, the map of decision points is just corridor markup. If that material does not exist, we run an abbreviated field stage.
Is the strategy a document or a design?
A document. It contains no mock-ups or drawings: it describes how orientation works in the building and which message has to appear at each decision point. You can design the environment from it yourself or through another contractor — the strategy remains applicable regardless of who does the design.
Does a small building need a strategy?
As a separate document, usually not: for a single building with two or three scenarios the framework fits inside a section of the audit report. A strategy pays off where there are several buildings, where they are of one type and the solution will be replicated, or where different contractors — architects, IT, operations — are involved and need a shared language.
How does the strategy relate to a building refurbishment?
They are best run in parallel. At the building design stage some gaps are removed by the layout itself — sightlines to key zones, the position of entrances, axes of movement. In a finished building the same gaps can only be compensated for with signals, which is always more expensive and weaker.
We will design the wayfinding for your building
Send us the floor plans and a short description of the building — we will come back with an estimate of scope and timescales. You can start with the audit: it forms the first stage of the project, and is billed separately if you decide to take it from there yourself.