Getting Lost...Some reasons why

PART 6 - CLIENTS

There are two main types of client: Construction Teams and Operations/ Corporate Senior Management. I will - in turn - reflect on both.

Before I do though, one aspect that both of these "clients" share is:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT/ INSURANCE/ LIABILITY

Irrespective of who the Client is - the one thing that really limits how far a wayfinding/ signage consultant will get involved is in the realm of Project Management ("PM"). More particularly, how much Clients demand this aspect - in a Tender - yet then are generally unwilling to support within the budget.

Clients will typically engage the Main Contractor, Architect, Interior Design/ M&E Consultants etc., on very extended terms and with a stipulation for them all to be in attendance at most if not all meetings (whether they are presenting or not). The PM requirement for these consultants on any one project is very significant and, in budget terms, is widely accepted as being reasonable. However, this is rarely if ever the case when it comes to the Signage (let alone Wayfinding) Consultant.

When combining this with the very extended payment schedules that Clients insist on - even for such tiny project fees and scopes of work, effectively freezes out a competent Wayfinding consultant from becoming involved in any project.

In addition, Clients will demand the same level of Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance and other Insurances/ liability on a Wayfinding/ Signage consultant as they would a Main Contractor (whose fees etc, will run into multiple $100s of millions). This includes other items such as liquidated damages and/or Third Party Insurance, and for up to 10 years AFTER a project is finished (which can itself take years to complete). Naturally for something that is mostly considered minor works, the level of fees that such consultancy attracts makes such insurance and liability far too excessive. The only option is to increase fees - which then clients find too expensive...

Naturally this in turn limits the involvement of the Wayfinding Consultant in any project. As such it will be the Guests/ visitors - and sometimes the tenants (for a retail mall) - that will experience the consequences.

A - CONSTRUCTION TEAMS

With massive building projects and overall budgets, it would be tempting to think that Wayfinding - especially for properties that are flagship developments that cost multiple $100s of millions - would also be well funded. Actually that is rarely the case. Wayfinding if it is considered at all - let alone seriously - is not that high up on the team's radar (the focus is on the construction of the building itself, interior fit out, life-safety systems, electrical/ mechanical and marketing) and as such attention to it is generally ignored. It is hardly surprising that navigating these properties beyond the project launch/ opening ends up being problematic.

BUDGET ALLOCATION

The % (and actual amount) typically allocated to Signage Consultancy (Remember: Signage is the BIG cousin of Wayfinding) during construction for any project is very often preset and incredibly minuscule. Clients invariably expect (if they are even aware of it) the Wayfinding aspect to be included in the overall consultancy fees - IF at all. Therefore the attention is on the Signage Design (the aesthetic aspect) - rarely the actual Wayfinding.

PROJECT TEAMS

Decision making (on very large-scale projects) can often be left up to individual managers/ and various individual departments. This can end up with very different - and competing - requirements, as certain teams drive to ‘outrank’ the others; call ‘favours’ from the Consultant (or the “Consultant” will be simply ordered to make changes whether they are correct or not), or the project teams themselves will impose their own in-house 'solution'.

PERMITS

Construction teams usually go for the least amount of signage needed for a project in order to meet construction budget requirements and that can still qualify for the various building permits: Good Wayfinding (except emergency/ life-safety signage i.e. Fire Escape plans and Exits) is not a statutory requirement, so there is little reason for it to figure highly in their budget or in their attention.

TIMELINES

Due to the tight budget constraints, Construction teams do not prioritise Wayfinding. Any attention that is given is generally left to once the permits have been granted when timeframes are extremely tight due to the pressure of opening on time. Mostly the property is open and in the hands of the Operator (so the functioning business is left with any problems and cost) and enough people complain (visitors and/or staff tired of answering basic questions and frustrated guests/ visitors) before such things are even thought about.

KNOWLEDGE

Very few Construction teams have Signage as an in-house resource; those that do undervalue it, as it is viewed as a rather esoteric last-minute don't-understand-it-but-must-have-it item. Worse than signage - even fewer people really understand Wayfinding or its relevance in the construction process. There is rarely the management resource available to pay real attention to it or even evaluate schemes/ make meaningful comments. Even when it is there, the level of required detail is such that it takes up too much of their time for what is regarded as being far too tiny a matter. Especially when it is all too often treated as something that the Operating business will have to sort out.

B - OPERATIONS/ CORPORATE SENIOR MANAGEMENT

OPERATION TEAMS

Like Construction teams, Operations’ teams (especially for very large - multi-department projects such as Integrated Leisure Resorts - typically casinos with attached other on-site offerings: hotel/s, theatres, stadium, exhibition halls, transportation hubs, entertainment, retail etc…) tend to have competing aims and the emphasis is on generating quick returns and being the department that “does the best”.

OPERATING BUDGETS

Pre-opening, each department is given an initial set-up operating budget that is generally very generous. Money at this point is no object and lavished on many aspects and everything can change at a moment's notice. Signage becomes a soft, quick way to outdo other teams by having their own scheme and they can demand as many signs as they wish. Getting their particular department name/ offering larger, first or longer messages on a sign panel is crucial. This can lead to interdepartmental - and even tenant - rivalry that leads to competing demands for signage space, constant changes and little control of signage types, messages and signage clutter - all of which not only directly affects visitors' immediate experience but also how well they can get around.

This is all the more so if different departments are able to use different consultants/ fabricators. Even when they use the same consultant it can be done in a disjointed piecemeal fashion. This can be as a result of different objectives, budgets and timelines (similar to different services digging up roads). As a result, on top of all the other distractions/ attractions, it can only lead to increased confusion for guests/ visitors/ end-users.

Conversely with post-opening operating expenses coming from sales/ revenue and having to maximise profit margins, Operators often think they are being efficient by turning to their fabricators/ installers to do the “wayfinding” too…or do it themselves. After all, the signs are already in place - so how difficult can it be?

PHILOSOPHY

Some properties (Retail Malls/ Leisure resorts/ Town centres) can have the view that ensuring visitors ‘get lost’ is a good thing and is to be deliberately encouraged. The thinking is that visitors being lost means that they will simply take longer to leave, and instead stay and spend more money at their venue (restaurants, stores etc…) rather than going elsewhere.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT

Corporate Senior Management - like Construction Teams - find signage very hard to understand; wayfinding even less so, but they do know it is a must-tick-the-box exercise. Once it is ‘done’ it can be forgotten about. There can be occasions when a Senior Manager/ VP or SVP knows something about wayfinding/ signage but it is still far from common to encounter such people, and their priorities are generally elsewhere. After all - the details can be excruciating and there are far more “important” and “valuable” things with which to occupy their time, energy and focus.

Senior Management - when they do get involved in Signage/ Wayfinding - can exercise a great deal of influence in the outcome of a signage/ wayfinding scheme. Personal preferences - rather than awareness of any technical realities - can often decide the size of the fonts/ graphics or if the signage acts in contrast to the property/ interior design. Naturally, each department's SVP thinks their preference counts more than all of the others.

CONCLUSION

Just considering this and all of the previous sections, it is little wonder that people can all too easily still get lost.?While many of the factors raised are not within the remit of design or the design process, Clients and Consultants alike are getting better.

Recognition of the collective benefits of good wayfinding/ signage design certainly helps to mitigate some of the difficulties. It has also led to gaining greater appreciation of - and a genuine desire to resolve - the many challenges real people have to deal with every day. In turn, this helps the many consultants who tackle these issues, to gain more recognition in what has been a previously undervalued aspect of end-user-based information design.

END

WayMaker, with its integrated approach founded on direct, proven experience and understanding, has the ability to put all of the factors together to develop holistic wayfinding - and signage - schemes that work across all property types/ environments.?

Hopefully as a client, you are as interested in your development’s Wayfinding as much as your guests/ visitors are. In the event that you are - you can contact Keith Moody (Principal Consultant) at: [email protected]

www.waymaker.world