Where is wayfinding headed next?

With Transform’s inaugural European Wayfinding Awards fast approaching, we hear from those shaping the discipline. From the biggest changes facing wayfinding to the biggest mistakes made in the industry, leaders in the field tell us their thoughts.

What will be the single biggest change in wayfinding practice over the next two to three years?

Mark Lightfoot, managing partner, Modulex UK

AI will disrupt wayfinding practice less at the edges and more at the top. Large agencies already systematise wayfinding design through scale, teams and precedent, but that model depends on human labour doing first-pass planning and coordination. AI collapses that structure. Tasks that once required layers of juniors can be generated quickly, consistently and defensibly by software. That puts real pressure on how big firms work and what they charge and exposes where fees were tied to production rather than judgement. At the same time, it gives smaller, well-tooled agencies a huge advantage. With the right AI tools, they can operate at a level of rigour that previously required size, while remaining faster, leaner and closer to decisions.

AI is disrupting everything and wayfinding won’t escape.

How is digital enhancing, rather than replacing, physical wayfinding?

Wesley Meyer, creative director, f.r.a.

We’ve collaborated on some deep evidence-based research recently that absolutely points to a need for a multi-channel approach to wayfinding. Digital wayfinding, both mobile and kiosk-based, is finally getting good enough to be reliable, but it’s not a catch-all solution. Visitors now expect that information, such as wayfinding, will be provided to them in their preferred way. This means that wayfinding solutions need to be a mix of analogue signs, digital solutions and human interactions. Relying too heavily on any one method now has sharper consequences with our audience as a whole.

What is one mistake still made when commissioning wayfinding - and what can be done about it?

Alison Richings, wayfinding design director, Endpoint

One key mistake is treating wayfinding as synonymous with signage. Signs are only one expression of wayfinding. Effective navigation is shaped through spatial planning, architecture, landscape, lighting and sound. When wayfinding is commissioned as a signage package, it often comes too late to influence the user journey itself.

This is compounded by a binary view of digital, either overinvesting without the resources to maintain it, or dismissing it as too complex. In reality, digital can be prototyped, tested and evolved.

The remedy is to commission wayfinding as a user-centred system. Involve specialists early, treat analogue, digital and placemaking as part of one ecosystem, and prioritise post-occupancy evaluation. Testing and refinement after installation are often where the most valuable insights emerge.

Dan Lane, head of wayfinding, Mima

A common mistake is to treat wayfinding as a reactive fix rather than a strategic design tool; thinking it’s an add-on that comes towards the end of the project. Bringing the wayfinding designer onto a project far along in the RIBA stages means we have to react to a finalised layout, without being able to help shape that built form. Too often signage is added to address problems that already exist, rather than supporting intuitive understanding from the outset.

Consistent terminology and clear, plain language are critical, particularly in complex environments, and must accommodate different cognitive needs and interpretations. By involving the wayfinding team early, we can help define the building’s design, influence spatial layout, sightlines, creating easy and intuitive environments to navigate.

Hugo Plazas, industrial designer, The Look Company

One of the most common mistakes is defining accessibility in wayfinding too narrowly. Many projects focus on mobility and visual impairments (e.g. wheelchair routes, Braille, contrast ratios) and stop there. That approach overlooks neurodivergent visitors, people experiencing cognitive decline, those with language barriers and anyone under situational stress. In spaces like stadiums and arenas, sensory overload can quickly make a technically compliant system feel unusable.

The solution is deeper, user-centred research when creating designs. Wayfinding systems should be tested with disabled and older users in the crowded, high-pressure environments they’re actually meant to serve — not just reviewed in controlled settings. That real-world insight should then inform a broader definition of accessibility that accounts for cognitive load and multisensory navigation so information can be processed in different ways. When approached holistically, the resulting impact can be measured with fewer wrong turns, fewer assistance requests and lower stress throughout the space.

Robert Canak, founder, Node and managing partner, Modulex Croatia

One persistent mistake in wayfinding commissioning is treating it as a ‘cosmetic’ layer added at project's end, after architecture, interiors and infrastructure are set.

By then, the building's spatial logic – shaped by structural, functional, landscape, urban furniture, power and data, services and security decisions – is fixed. Wayfinding can't compete or suffer from these; it must integrate from day one.

The fix? Embed it early. Position wayfinding as core infrastructure, involved from the start alongside spatial programming. This translates operational and user needs into a legible, intuitive user interface. Late input turns it corrective, patching complexities early collaboration could resolve generatively.

Zoë Barrett, Wayfinding Director, DNCO

One mistake still commonly made when commissioning wayfinding is treating it as a signage problem rather than a strategic one. We have all seen places where new signs have been stuck over old ones to solve a problem quickly. Too often, wayfinding is introduced late in a project and expected to fix confusing layouts through graphics alone. Wayfinding is about how people understand and move through space. Signage is only one tool within a wider system of architecture, circulation, landmarks and behavioural cues. The solution is to involve wayfinding expertise early, define clear objectives and design from the user’s perspective. By mapping journeys, decision points and expectations from the outset, wayfinding can support confidence, legibility and a positive sense of place rather than compensating for avoidable confusion.