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1. GdAM
GETTING
THERE
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 1

3. GdAM
GETTING
THERE
rethinking wayfinding at northeastern
Pamela Andrade Sara LaPorte Graphic design, Architecture & Multimedia
Amanda Athanasiou Erica LeLievre students came together in the inaugural offering of
Alison Baggen Tim Loranger “Environmental design” to form an interdisciplinary
Laura Bernstein Britt Soler studio. Our task was to re-envision wayfinding at the
Emily Czarnecki Kate Terrado university. This book represents our recommendations
Alexander Davis Alex Turnwall for new wayfinding initiatives, and an overview of the
Brett Eksuzian Ryan Sullivan, research that got us there.
Geoff House instructor
Spring 2010

4. THE RESEARCH PROCESS
1. Discipline-based 2. Human-centered research 3. Synthesis
knowledge gathering
We began by doing what we each did Our first interdisciplinary research, bro- Amalgamation: through a shared pro-
best – researching our own areas of ex- ken into groups that each had a different cess, overlapping human-centered
pertise. What did Northeastern currently way of exploring the connections that insights were revealed.
do? What are some precedents that we people had to campus.
should look at or avoid?
LOOK Observe the way that user groups
DESIGN Branding standards, sign-making interact with the campus as an environ-
process, current state of wayfinding at ment, both physically and virtually.
Northeastern.
ACT Interact with other systems that may
ARCHITECTURE Morphology, urban form, shed some light on how we can improve
pedestrian traffic, green space. our own.
INTERACTIVE Web, mobile, kiosks. ASK Conduct interviews and hand out
blank maps that will tell about user ex-
periences with campus wayfinding.

5. CONTENTS
research
1 why wayfinding?
2 wayfinding defined
3 research methodology
4 key insights
solutions
13 1 the system
28 2 a smart campus
43 3 greeters
52 4 boundaries
59 5 social spaces
64 6 columbus connection
72 7 tunnels
75 8 sharing space
78 9 northeastern avenue

6. WHAT IS WAYFINDING, EXACTLY?
When we speak about wayfinding It’s a system-based approach It’s physical It’s also digital
in terms of design, we are simply By setting up rules for an entire The most obvious application is on cam- New technologies can make wayfinding
talking about the system of tools wayfinding system, we can ensure pus signage. But think about the breadth more intuitive by giving the user real-
consistent delivery across applications of applications there: time feedback. Still, these technologies
that help direct a person from one – even those we might not know about must fit in with the physical elements.
point to the next. The most obvi- currently. Consider: Directionals
On-Campus Maps Northeastern Website
ous example of this is the tradi- Brand + Identity System Personal printed maps iPhone app
tional signage system. Typography guidelines Building signs other mobile apps?
Photography guidelines Flags on street poles Displays screens
Materials usage/procurement Room signs Kiosks
But wayfinding today is not so ob- Sign shop Parking lots/garages Facebook & Social Media
vious. There are complex systems, External building treatments Sports venues
MBTA stations
diverse user groups and different On-campus businesses
kinds of technology. Our research In-building signage
and experience in our individual
disciplices yielded these areas of
focus:
6 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

7. WHAT’S THE REAL NEED FOR WAYFINDING?
To direct people To enhance user experience To attract “customers”
This may seem like the most obvious Even if people can eventually find their A university has many potential “custom-
reason, but it proves harder in practice. way from point A to point B, there still ers”. These may be potential students
We found out that Northeastern can be may be an easier way to go about doing and their parents, investors, professors,
an especially hard place to find your way so. If people can navigate their way the surrounding community – there is
around and without a wayfinding system, around without really having to give it an endless list of stakeholders. If the
people get frustrated and lost! any thought, then the system is working physical space on campus does not look
properly. If they have to struggle – even a professional, you run the risk of loosing a
bit – something can likely be improved. customer.
By giving users the best system, you en- This may seem superficial, but think
sure that they have the best experience. about it this way, have you been to an
airport or subway station and felt lost?
Did that experience make you harbor
negative feelings towards that place,
activity or organization?
Feeling lost or unable to navigate can be
a frustrating feeling and that can easily
be associated with the organization that
maintains that space. To minimize the
possibility for this – intuitive wayfind sys-
tems that are professional and reflect the
University’s brand should be considered.
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 7

8. KEY INSIGHTS
Boundaries Orientation
A core requirement of our research was The idea behind this goal is to retain In general, physical orientation is crucial User routes are complex, involving
to focus on the needs of campus. We Northeastern’s identity as a university, to a user’s ability to understand and many turns, shortcuts, longcuts, and
identified many different user groups, while at the same time, effectively inte- successfully navigate their environment. non-orthogonal paths.
broke up users into different categories, grating the campus into the surrounding By creating a frame of reference we
ordered and re-ordered them. In the end, communities. are able to orient ourselves in a space Many of the landmarks people use to
although we realize there are more spe- and effectively move from one point to navigate campus are unexpected and
cific needs, we used a broad approach to We understand the intentions of the NU another. challenge what we traditionally think
begin categorizing needs. Planning department and wayfinding of as a landmark.
committee to have similar intentions. This is the foundation of wayfinding.
Surprisingly, even daily, experienced Getting lost affects practical day to day
users of the campus still felt lost in At northeastern there are a unique set routines, but It can also affect people
sections that were outside of their daily of factors that shape the way physical more abstractly by changing the way
“comfort zone.” Because of this trend, orientation happens and the adverse they feel about a place.
we began to see how we would have to reactions that occur when people can’t
design a system that worked for a variety orient themselves
of users.
8 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

9. Consistency Pathmaking
We visited six different campuses in the To improve wayfinding on campus, we
greater Boston area to get a general idea should adapt to the way frequent users
of how schools give themselves an image already use campus spaces.
and identity.
The map to the right depicts the paths
that frequent users take.
Through internet sources, on campus
buildings, and signage we found some
schools had better wayfinding systems
than others.
Northeastern should use consistency
throughout campus but as a tool, not an
overall goal. Using consistency as a tool
will allow for creativity in the production
of an identity on campus.
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 9

10. COMMUNITY MEMBER
THE HUMAN PERSPECTIVE
Just your average day...
To illustrate how real people – the very
people we researched – would use our
wayfinding system, we have a few story
lines spread throughout the book. Each
story represents a persona of someone in
one of our target audiences.
1
There are three events that our six char-
acters are travelling to: a lecture, an art
exhibit and a hockey game.
3.1 LECTURER
NU STUDENT
1
2
8 9
2
7
5.2
2 5.1
1 1
9
3.2 PARENT
BU STUDENT 4
3
6.2 6.1
10 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding NU STUDENT

11. THE LECTURE THE ART EXHIBIT THE HOCKEY GAME
Visiting lecturer Parent Community member
Our lecturer has never been to North- Our parent is an infrequent visitor to The community member frequently
easter. He’s arriving on the T and he has campus. She is driving to the parking passes through campus, but has no di-
a smart phone. garage and then going to the art gallery. rect affilitation with the university, other
than the fact that he likes hockey. He’s
headed to the game on foot.
Northeastern student Northeastern student 2 Other student visitors
This student lives in Northeastern hous- Our second student comes to camp[us We have a student visting from another
ing on Columbus Ave. She’s headed to by foot and is headed to the art gallery. college who is trying to find his way to
the lecture and walks to get there. the hockey game as well. He took the
orange line to Ruggle to get to campus.

12. 12 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

13. 1
The System
BRIEF: The most obvious aspect of wayfinding
is signage, and this includes a wide breadth of
applications. The objective is to not only dictate
where these signs would be most useful, but also
to determine the formal characteristics that would
make the sign most effective in a user’s decision-
making process.
SOLUTION: The end goal is to have a user comfort-
ably and successfully navigate the environment.
There should never be a point of confusion in the
user’s experience and signage should never been
seen as obtrusive.
NARRATIVE: A BU student is on his way to the
hockey game. He is unfamiliar with the campus
and gets confused about the location of Mat-
thews. However, he sees a directional sign and
continues on.
Elsewhere, a community member finds an interac-
tive kiosk and sees that there is a hockey game.
He gets directions and makes his way to Mat-
thews.
A parent going to the art gallery sees a map that
assists her in finding her way to the gallery.

14. TYPOGRAPHY
ITC New Baskerville and
Helvetica are the official
fonts of the University.
()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@A
Helvetica Neue serves
as an informative and
HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[]^_`a
readable display face. It
is economical in terms
of space and the bold
weight can be read at great Helvetica Neue Bold Condensed
distances.
New Baskerville is used
for the University ID and )*+,-./0123456789:;=?@AB
IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[]^_`ab
materials that require a
more formal presentation.
!
New Baskerville Roman
)*+,-./0123456789:;=?@AB
IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[]^_`ab
!
New Baskerville Italic
14 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

15. COLOR
When choosing colors, it is
important to select ones that
are easily identifiable. They
are to appear on signage,
which will correspond to the
colors of the zones of the
redesigned map. PMS 110 PMS 145 PMS 173 PMS 362 PMS 301
(0, 12, 100, 7) (0, 47, 100, 8) (0, 69, 100, 4) (70, 0, 100, 9) (100, 45, 0, 18)
ICONS
The purpose of the icons is
to introduce a set of symbols
to aid in campus wayfinding.
They are meant to be
Residential Academic Parking Emergency Wheelchair Cycling
used in conjunction with phones accessible
interactive and online
services.
Sciences Engineering Health Computer Business Criminal Art, media, Social
sciences sciences administration justice + design sciences
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 15

16. DEFINING CAMPUS ZONES
Physical orientation is crucial to a user’s
ability to understand and successfully
navigate their environment. By creating a
frame of reference, we are able to orient
ourselves in a space and effectively move
from one point to another.
Dividing the campus into colored zones
allows for better navigation through the
campus as a whole. The proposed zones
do not have an identity, they are simply an
organizational tool where one can easily
determine their location on a map by looking
at their surroundings. Zone colors will be
represented on kiosks, signage, and other
wayfinding elements with the goal of being
easily recognizable from any given point on
campus.
Zones are determined using two frames of
reference: common paths + boundaries.
16 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

17. Paths as a frame of reference Boundaries as a frame of reference
Huntington Avenue and Forsyth Street are Visual boundaries and physical boundaries The wall surrounding Ruggles Station is
two of the most commonly traveled paths on were also used to determine campus zones. perhaps the most imposing barrier on
campus. Therefore, these two paths are used The narrow pathways moving between campus. In only three locations can one pass
as the initial dividing lines when deciding Snell Library and the Curry Student Center, through or over the wall. From both Columbus
campus zones. along with the passage between Ell Hall Avenue and Northeastern University, the wall
and Dodge Hall, do not provide visual seems to be a solid element dividing the
connectivity. Therefore, one side of Curry campus. For this reason, it is considered a
feels disconnected from the other, forming a defining zone line.
boundary between the two zones.
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 17

18. REDESIGNING THE MAP
“There’s so much stuff on the map,
and it’s organized by the initials of
building names. I never know what
they stand for.”
A Northeastern student
In the current map, the axonometric In our redesign, a grid enables users to The redrawn map is also oriented so that
projection of the entire campus obstructs easily locate buildings, which are labeled Huntington is horizontal and visually
the important views of pathways and distort with three letter abbreviations. Each zone represents the dividing line of campus.
different areas of campus. The angled has a landmark building incorporated
view point disorients the user and the literal in axonometric projection which is Northeastern is located in the heart of
representation of the campus makes it architecturally distinctive and easily Boston, surrounded by many recognizable
difficult to decipher which building is which, recognizable. This provides users with an landmarks. Users appreciated NU’s unique
defeating the purpose of the illustrations. additional reference point. campus/city integration, so the map was
expanded to include these cultural places of
interest.
18 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

19. A B C D E F G H I J
AAC
KEN W
es
tla
1 Back Bay Fenw ay SMT nd BVD
St
MEL re
et
Christian
KER
CSH et Science Cente r
re
2 Fenway CAH LOF St HEM
y
wa
en
m
He
P NRL
STE
3 STW
Museum of LGT FEN
Fine Arts Symphony
St Stephen Street outbound
SPR STS HIL CTH Symphony
inbound
4 WHT MAR
407 337 ROTC 319
Northeastern
Museum of
Fine Arts
H u n t i n g t on Av e n u e University
G a in
RUB BUR WVH CAR STR KWL YMCA
5
et
sbo
CAB RIC DDG
For syth Stre
ro u
et
gh
St Botolph Street P ARL
re WVG MTH
S t WVA-N KAR BRL ELL
S tr e
er DKS BLK
Massachusetts
6 rk P GBG Avenue
Pa CUL
et
WIL LAK HDN
WVB MGR
WVA-S FOR CHR P HTL
HLM NGT HTG
WVF CUR
AAI LSC
WVC ROB
7 n S
t
MSV DRC SEC SLB ts o
P CNL Wa
BEH SHL
Ru
gg
le
WVE
EEC
s
St
8 P WVG
Carter Playground
re
RYD
et
No rt
ARC
M as sa
ha m
SQU
Cam
P CBL P CBG
pt on
den
9 Ruggles
Dou
ch us et
Da ven po
DCB
en ue
St
St
g la
bu s Av
Ben ton St
DCA
C ol um
Bu rke St
s P
P RNG COL
Cov ent ry
k
Cun ard
ts Av en
rt St
St Cyp rian
780
10
Me lne a
COV
St
St
ue
Southwest Corridor REN
Ca ss Blv
s
St re et
INV
Tre mo nt
Pl
11 Boston Police
Department
d
Academic Buildings
AAC Asian-American Center - E1 AAI John D. O'Bryant COL Columbus Place CUL Cullinane Hall - F6 ARC Architecture Studio - D8
CAH Cahners Hall - D2 African-American Institute - B7 Alumni Center - F10 HTG Hurtig Hall - F7 BLK Blackman Auditorium - E6
CSH Cushing Hall - D2 BEH Behrakis Health REN Renaissance Park - C11 MGR Mugar Life Sciences Building - F6 BRL Barletta Natarorium - D6
CTH Catholic Center - G4 Sciences Center - B7 SQU Badger-Rosen MTH Matthews Arena - H6 CAB Cabot Physical Education Center - D5
FEN Fenway Center - F3 CAR Cargill Hall - C5 SquashBusters Center - F9 ROB Robinson Hall - F7 CHR Churchill Hall - D6
HIL Hillel-Frager - F4 DKS Dockser Hall - C6 YMCA YMCA - F5 CUR Curry Student Center - E7
MAR Marino Recreation Center - D4 HLM Holmes Hall - C7 DDG Dodge Hall - F5
ROTC ROTC Office - E4 KAR Kariotis Hall - C6 DRC Dana Research Center - D7
BVD Belvidere Place - J1 KWL Knowles Center - C5 EEC Egan Engineering/Science
LAK Lake Hall - C6 Research Center - D8
MSV Meserve Hall - C7 ELL Ell Hall - E6
NGT Nightingale Hall - C7 FOR Forsyth Building - D6
RYD Ryder Hall - B8 HDN Hayden Hall - E6
SHL Shillman Hall - C7 LSC Latino/a Student Cultural Center - D7
RIC Richards Hall - E5
SEC Snell Engineering Center - D7
SLB Snell Library - E7
Residence Buildings Academic Residence Buildings Parking Garages and Lots
319 319 Huntington Ave. - F4 BUR Burstein Hall - B5 780 780 Columbus Ave. - E10 INV International Village - C11 ARL Arena Lot - G6
337 337 Huntington Ave. - E4 RUB Rubenstein Hall - A5 COV 10 Coventry Street - E10 WVF West Village F - B7 CBG Columbus Garage - F9
407 407 Huntington Ave. - C4 WIL Willis Hall - C6 DCA Davenport Commons A - G9 WVG West Village G - B6 CBL Columbus Lot - E9
HEM 142-148 Hemenway St. - E2 WVA-N West Village A North - B6 DCB Davenport Commons B - G9 WVH West Village H - B5 CNL Camden Lot - G7
KEN Kennedy Hall - E1 WVA-S West Village A South - A6 GBG Gainsboro Garage - G6
KER Kerr Hall - D2 WVB West Village B - B6 HTL Hurtig Lot - G6
LOF Loftman Hall and WVC West Village C - B7 NRL North Lot - E3
153 Hemenway St. - D2 WVE West Village E - B8 RNG Renaissance Garage - D10
LGT Light Hall - F3 WVG West Village Garage - B8
MEL Melvin Hall - D1
SMT Smith Hall - E1
SPR Speare Hall - E4
STE Stetson East - E3
STS Levine Hall and
St. Stephen St. Complex - E4
STW Stetson West - D3
WHT White Hall - D4
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 19

20. Campus Map
A B C D E F G H I J
AAC
W
KEN es
tla
1 SMT
nd
BVD
St
B ack B ay Fe n w a y re
MEL et
KER C hristian
CSH et S cience C enter
Fe nway re
2 St
CAH LOF a y HEM
w
en
H em
P
STE NRL
3 Museum of STW
Fine A r ts LGT FEN Symphony
St Stephen Stre et outbound
SPR STS HIL CTH Symphony
inbound
4
WHT MAR
407 337 ROTC 319
Northeastern
Museum of
Fine Arts
H untington Avenue University
Gai
5 RUB BUR WVH CAR STR KWL
re et
YMCA
nsb
CAB RIC DDG
oro
Fo rs yt h St
ugh
et St Bo to lp h St reet P
re WVG MTH
St KAR BRL ELL ARL
Stre
r WVA-N
ke P
6 P ar DKS BLK CUL Massachusetts
et
HDN MGR GBG Avenue
WIL LAK
WVA-S WVB FOR
HLM CHR P
HTG HTL
WVF NGT CUR
LSC ROB
7 WVC AAI
n S
t
MSV DRC SEC tso
BEH SHL SLB P Wa
CNL
Ru
gg
WVE
le
EEC
s
8 P
St
WVG Carter Playground
re
RYD
et
Nort
ARC
Massa
SQU
ham
Cam
P P
pton
9 CBL CBG
den
Dou
c h u s e tt
D a ve n p
Ruggles
venu e DCB
St
St
gla
bus A
Be nt on St
DCA
Colum
B ur ke S
s P
COL
Co ve nt ry
P
o rt S t
k
Cu na rd
RNG
s Aven
St Cy pr ia
10 780 t
M el ne a
COV
St
St
ue
ns
S outhwest C or r ido r INV REN
C as s B
S tr e e t
T re m o n t
Pl
11 B oston P olice
lv d
D epar tment
20 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding

21. Campus Map Key
Academic Buildings
AAC Asian-American Center - E1 AAI John D. O'Bryant COL Columbus Place CUL Cullinane Hall - F6 ARC Architecture Studio - D8
CAH Cahners Hall - D2 African-American Institute - B7 Alumni Center - F10 HTG Hurtig Hall - F7 BLK Blackman Auditorium - E6
CSH Cushing Hall - D2 BEH Behrakis Health REN Renaissance Park - C11 MGR Mugar Life Sciences Building - F6 BRL Barletta Natarorium - D6
CTH Catholic Center - G4 Sciences Center - B7 SQU Badger-Rosen MTH Matthews Arena - H6 CAB Cabot Physical Education Center - D5
FEN Fenway Center - F3 CAR Cargill Hall - C5 SquashBusters Center - F9 ROB Robinson Hall - F7 CHR Churchill Hall - D7
HIL Hillel-Frager - F4 DKS Dockser Hall - C6 YMCA YMCA - F5 CUR Curry Student Center - E7
MAR Marino Recreation Center - D4 HLM Holmes Hall - C7 DDG Dodge Hall - F5
ROTC ROTC Office - E4 KAR Kariotis Hall - C6 DRC Dana Research Center - D7
BVD Belvidere Place - J1 KWL Knowles Center - C5 EEC Egan Engineering/Science
LAK Lake Hall - C6 Research Center - D8
MSV Meserve Hall - C7 ELL Ell Hall - E6
NGT Nightingale Hall - C7 FOR Forsyth Building - D6
RYD Ryder Hall - B8 HDN Hayden Hall - E6
SHL Shillman Hall - C7 LSC Latino/a Student Cultural Center - D7
RIC Richards Hall - E5
SEC Snell Engineering Center - D7
SLB Snell Library - E7
Residence Buildings Academic Residence Buildings Parking Lots and Garages
319 319 Huntington Ave. - F4 BUR Burstein Hall - B5 780 780 Columbus Ave. - E10 INV International Village - C11 ARL Arena Lot - G6
337 337 Huntington Ave. - E4 RUB Rubenstein Hall - A5 COV 10 Coventry Street - E10 WVF West Village F - B7 CBG Columbus Garage - F9
407 407 Huntington Ave. - C4 WIL Willis Hall - C6 DCA Davenport Commons A - G9 WVG West Village G - B6 CBL Columbus Lot - E9
HEM 142-148 Hemenway St. - E2 WVA-N West Village A North - B6 DCB Davenport Commons B - G9 WVH West Village H - B5 CNL Camden Lot - G7
KEN Kennedy Hall - E1 WVA-S West Village A South - A6 GBG Gainsboro Garage - G6
KER Kerr Hall - D2 WVB West Village B - B6 HTL Hurtig Lot - G7
LOF Loftman Hall and WVC West Village C - B7 NRL North Lot - E3
153 Hemenway St. - D2 WVE West Village E - B8 RNG Renaissance Garage - D10
LGT Light Hall - F3 WVG West Village Garage - B8
MEL Melvin Hall - D1
SMT Smith Hall - E1
SPR Speare Hall - E4
STE Stetson East - E3
STS Levine Hall and
St. Stephen St. Complex - E4
STW Stetson West - D3
WHT White Hall - D4
GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding 21

22. SIGNS
“It’s basically impossible to tell
someone how to get from Forsyth
Street to the library.”
A tour guide on giving directions
The new system will supplement the existing that signage not obstruct current pathways,
system in place on campus. It consists of stating that “probably small and subtle would
directional signage, displaying a combination be best in our urban setting.”
of localized maps, campus maps, directional
words and arrows, and interactive features. Interactive and digital signage is placed in
prominent social spaces on campus, while
The design and location of the signage smaller, less prominent signs are placed
were informed by intensive study of the along highly trafficked routes on campus.
Northeastern campus and those who interact
with it. Frequent users found it integral
22 GdAM Environmental Design + Wayfinding