to move from one node to another and the number of level changes required to
reach a destination extended the original VI model. Another measure, the ICD,
evaluates the complexity of a floor plan based on the topological relations
between choice points. Increases in ICD are associated with increases in the difficulty
of wayfinding. These measures are purely on the environmental aspects of
wayfinding and do not account for any human aspects involved in wayfinding.
Since an individual’s human factors and the elements of the environment play
such an important role in wayfinding, any model used to describe and understand
wayfinding must include these factors. Space syntax, as discussed in Section 5.2.3,
goes some of the way in doing this, however; it ignores some important human and
environmental factors. As evidenced by this review, what is currently missing in
wayfinding research is a model with the ability to include the human and environmental
factors involved in wayfinding and make a determination regarding which
of these factors are the most important in this complex process.
Research into wayfinding has been able to provide the factors involved in wayfinding,
and environments can be designed to make wayfinding easier. Recent
technological developments contain the potential to make wayfinding easier.
The increased use and availability of mobile devices and smart phones may be
one way to do this. In the setting of an airport terminal, downloadable apps
could be made available to terminal users. These apps could track the user’s
current position and show them the path to take to a destination such as toilets,
the next activity centre or their required gate. The use of mobile phones for
airport and airline processes is not new: the International Air Transport Association’s
e-travel vision for Bar Coded Boarding Passes (BCBP) allows passengers
to use their mobile phones to gain access to flights using a scannable bar code
that appears on their screens. Awayfinding app could be seen as a complimentary
measure to initiatives such as the BCBP.
This article has examined the ways in which wayfinding has been investigated
by different perspectives and has provided a concise summary of research to date.
It has made reference to the importance of wayfinding in the context of airports.
From this examination, it is apparent that a holistic model that combines the
human and environmental elements of wayfinding is vital in allowing the elucidation
of the factors that have an impact on effective wayfinding.