The trip segment approach to wayfinding design breaks a parking trip into stages, from approaching the facility to leaving it, and plans the information people need at each stage rather than treating signage as one continuous system.
Each segment has its own decisions and its own audience: a driver on the street, a driver searching for a space, a pedestrian looking for the exit, and a returning customer looking for their car. Planning by segment keeps signs focused on the decision in front of the user and avoids overloading them with information they do not yet need. See wayfinding.
The segments of a parking trip
- Approach: find the facility and its entrance from the street, often with dynamic signs showing availability.
- Entry: take a ticket or credential, understand rates and choose a route.
- Search: find an open space. See parking guidance system.
- Park and remember: note the level and location. See cognitive map.
- Walk to destination: find stairs, elevators and the exit to the street.
- Return and exit: find the car, pay if needed and leave.
Design tips
- Give each decision point one clear message.
- Repeat the same names, colors and symbols across every segment.
- Test the route as a first-time visitor, on foot and by car, in both directions.
The Parkonomics view
Most wayfinding failures happen at one segment, often the walk back to the car. Planning by segment finds those gaps before the customer does.
Related terms: Wayfinding, Cognitive Map, Parking Guidance System, Dynamic Signage, Legibility, Graphic Panel