Blog Post #1: Wayfinding

As my Ningaloo Destination Model was based on animation, there was very little personal choice for the user in what they chose to see information on.

However, through a map screen after my introductory video was played, the user had a choice to which animation they wished to view based on the information they wanted/needed to find out. This map screen was incorporated by me to appeal to one of the wishes of the client (Having Google Maps somehow present within the destination model) and allowed users to access the information they wanted to see rather than having to sit through several minutes of animation they didn’t need to see.

This is the aspect of my project that contained relevance to the wayfinding design principle. To reiterate, wayfinding is ‘the process of using spatial and environmental information to navigate to a destination’. It is comprised of four main stages, which I will now list and explain the relevance to my project piece.

Orientation

After the introductory video is played, the user is then placed in front of a map screen

During the introduction video, the user is told what is going to be happening. They’re going to be guided through the project by the narrator and the anthropomorphic whale shark known as Jimmy based on several scenarios outlined in the destination model. When the animation stops playing, the projector screen the animation was playing on rolls up and the map screen comes into view. The buttons the user can click on fade into view and the piece doesn’t continue until they click on something.

Route Decision

While on the map screen, the user is given a choice of what informative animations to view based on which button they click.

While it is fairly obvious that the animation portion is over when the project screen rolls up, I never explained through words what the user must do to progress forward. I left it up to them to realize, once nothing happens, they need to mouse over the buttons to reveal what relevant animation will be played if they click on them. Aside from these titles there is no detailed explanation of what information will be in the animations so the user may be at a loss as to which animation is most relevant to the information they wish to find out.

Route Monitoring

Once a button is clicked the map zooms in on its location and the projector screen rolls down again.

Again, this is fairly straightforward but still the user lacks access to a depth of information after the button is selected. While the backgrounds I chosen to zoom in on have some relevance to the subject matter of the animation (For instance, the ‘Governance’ part zooms in over the town Exmouth) they are too vague and not seen long enough to validate to the user what they click one is truly relevant to them. There is no text or symbolism to help reassure them they’re on the right path to viewing the information they need.

Destination Recognition

After the zoom in, the projector screen rolls down again the next animation is played.

The user is able to recognize if the information they wanted to see is being played based on the content of the animation. It is explained by the two characters fairly early on, but it is a slow and not instantaneous recognition.

Overall, while the wayfinding process here works to a degree but the overall map screen interface is boring and lacks any real instruction or direction. Everything is brief and there is little to no explanation of what clicking each button will play, or what specific information will be discussed. So although the navigation works, there is little to no depth to it, isn’t well labeled and doesn’t reassure the user like a projected fully utilizing the wayfinding process would do.

This could have been solved by including small paragraphs of text; one or two sentences that explained which information would be viewed in a greater detail. And this way, it wouldn’t break flow and could be easily skimmed by the user, putting their mind at ease and allowing them to get to their relevant information faster and with confidence.