Way finding and Mapping
I began this project by choosing West Croydon Bus Station as a physical site to base my work on. I chose this specific site because I am familiar with it. I have had issues with way finding and navigating around this bus station on several occasions therefore I thought it was appropriate to use this as a starting point.
After photographing the site and studying it from the perspective of a graphic designer rather than as a member of the public I came to the conclusion that the main issue present in terms of communicating information was not one of bad typography or imagery. My view was shared by various other individuals. I came to the conclusion that although the problem the bus station has is quite straight forward, the solution could be very complex as it is a very complex site. It is complex as there are so many different variables I would have to consider in my approach to providing a solution.
The development of my work was inspired by environmental and super graphics as the examples of this particular style took unconventional yet simple approaches to treatments for way finding. Initially, this influenced my work by leading me to experiment with building on the existing way finding/ signage at the bus station and then re-design it in a way which communicates better and makes it easier for people to navigate around. This approach was unsuccessful as this was too obvious. I then came up with the idea to create an app that can be used alongside the the existing way finding in the station. The concept behind my app is to make the existing way finding in the bus station more vibrant/eye-catching. I did so by using colour rather than letters and numbers to distinguish between each zone. In addition to this I added a feature which allows the user to use the iPhone/Android camera as a means of navigation.
GuideMe: a way finding app
I think this was a successful response to the brief as I believe I managed to solve the issues with my chosen site as well as design a visually interesting final. The aspect of it that worked well was the fact that it was a solution to a real problem. Nevertheless, if I had more time I would have created a walk through of how the app works in a motion graphics style rather than just using screen grabs. I also intent to design the aerial view/ floor plan of West Croydon bus station which illustrates the divisions between each code via the use of different colours.
