The specific wayfinding task we have chosen is for someone who is unfamiliar with the Art and Design building, who must start at the east stairs and find room 345. My wife was the first outside research subject.
To my surprise, she chose this entrance. I found it a little unwelcoming, but she was undeterred.
Though she wandered a bit in the stairwell, she found the 3rd floor due to the signage.
The only sign that suggests other rooms, but was not heeded the first time.
Instead we walked around the rest of the building, even up to Gregory Thomas' office.
She eventually finds the way, admitting that it's the last option.
It's the bright room at the end of the hall. I asked her to find her way back to the stairs, and thankfully, she tried the other route away from the room, and we wound up in the same stairwell we began in.
Below is the actual path we walked through the building.
Though we've only started with one tester, I believe this is a wayfinding PROBLEM that can be resolved. The above is a representation of the problem, that we hope to develop into the solution with more research and more detailed observations.
GeorgeP
I would just like to comment, for the record, that there is a limit to wandering capabilities in a stairwell--and I did not wander. I looked at the signs and moved up the stairs. Like a normal person in a stairwell.
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