June 22, 2009 – The word “wayfinding” has become very popular lately.  (I’m not even sure it’s a word, by the way, since it doesn’t appear in my dictionary and spell check has problems with it.)  But "wayfinding" is an important concept, nonetheless, with a simple definition.  It means to “help people find things.” Just like signs in an airport.

 

When you enter the terminal at Reagan National, there are big polished signs with loud letters and arrows pointing the way to just what you’re looking for: food, shops, departure gates, and of course, the restrooms.  Simple concept, right?

 

Unfortunately, in the world of strategic communications, we often forget this, particularly with websites.  Too many times, we make people fend for themselves, searching without clear direction, forcing them to work too hard – instead of making things easy.  

 

This is a pivotal theme for three recent client projects – for a web strategy, a brochure design and an internal reorganization.

 

For us, the moral of the story is to practice what we preach.  So, we’ve revamped the J Street Consulting website. We put big signs up to help visitors find what they’re looking for and to highlight key points.  “The Strategy Consulting department is to the left, Team Bios are in Aisle 6,” and so on.

   

We even started this blog to talk about urgent topics – like strategies to navigate 2009… and finding the restrooms.

 

Jay Kerness

J Street Consulting

President & Founding Partner