Wayfinding Through Pumpkins!

With the Halloween season, perhaps it would be appropriate to offer something that ties into the season. Let’s talk about Wayfinding Through Pumpkins! I know it seems like a peculiar topic. But I’m a big fan of creating ways to navigate the customer through spaces through innovative means. Our example today is a great example of how to direct people without necessarily creating another sign. Signage overload is something that is too often found in public spaces. People need to know where to go without necessarily being led there through more verbiage. To show you what I mean, let’s go to Disneyland. I have a little video I took when I was out there a few weeks ago:

Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World doesn’t do pumpkin way finding in the same way, but I did find in the decorations for Halloween this fun little piece of squash-style signage:

What’s the message? Use innovative ways to tell your customer which way to go, then using the obvious means of putting up another sign. Signs are too often clutter, and detract from the setting you have created.

By the way, this same principle applies to Cinderella Castle, which acts as a wayfinding icon for people trying to find their way around Magic Kingdom.

To see another example of this, check out this post from the railroad station at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It’s the antithesis of what you should do, and illustrates the problem with literary litter.

Ask yourself: How can you help customers find their way around your experience by using the setting itself?

Want more ideas like this? You can find them in my book, The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney. Check it out on Amazon.