PROJECT GUIDE / Spatial & service experience
How should service information work in public spaces?
Help different users find their way, locate facilities and understand how to use them.
Define the Task First
Help different users find their way, locate facilities and understand how to use them. At the outset, review existing materials alongside typical use cases to identify where problems arise, who they affect and which existing content needs to remain in use.
The scope of organizing service information in public spaces should reflect operations, audiences and delivery requirements. The following offers a framework for discussion and planning.
Three Stages of Work
Understanding Users
Document typical tasks for first-time visitors, children, older people and groups, paying attention to difficulties with reading information and moving through the space.
Information Roles
Use overview maps to show spatial relationships, directional signs to guide movement and facility signs to confirm arrival. Place rules where they apply.
On-Site Review
Walk actual routes to check for obstructions, reading distances, repeated information and missing guidance, and make revisions while designs are still at the mock-up stage.
What to Prepare Before We Talk
- Site plans, entry points, primary circulation paths, and service facilities
- Arrival methods and typical tasks for different user groups
- Site photography, operational guidelines, and information maintenance responsibilities
Representative samples are a good place to start. Past versions, real-world photos and typical feedback illustrate the problem better than style references alone; any missing information can be gathered during project discussions.
How We Discuss and Review
- Arrival: Can first-time visitors confirm their location?
- Navigation: Is guidance continuous and clear at key decision points?
- Maintenance: Can names, events, and temporary changes be updated promptly?
Combining rules and directions on the same sign makes both harder to follow.
Each review round records confirmed directions, required changes and who owns them. Before moving to the next phase, we clarify which materials the changes affect, so strategy, design and implementation stay connected.
Deliverables to Discuss
A user task list, information location map, and examples of icons and sign layouts.
Specific quantities, content depth, production scope and timing are determined by project materials and usage conditions. At delivery, we also record file versions, usage instructions and ongoing maintenance responsibilities.
Related Work and Capabilities
The links below draw on existing project materials on this site, making it easy to compare related design expression and applications.
The Palace Museum
Culture & Media
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China National Archives of Publications and Culture
Culture & Media
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Beijing Science Center Wayfinding System Planning and Design
Government and Public Institutions
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accenture
Services
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Poly Group
Real Estate & Commercial Spaces
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Sinochem Group
Energy & Chemicals
Read MoreCONTINUE READING Further Reading
Find your next step, starting with the question at hand.
When you get in touch about a project, it helps to share your business context, existing materials, primary use scenarios and the problems you want to solve. We'll use this to discuss scope and how we might work together.
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