Glossary · 2 · Finding information
Wayfinding (information architecture)
Also known as: Wayfinding (information spaces), Navigation and orientation
German: Wayfinding
In information architecture, wayfinding is the process by which people orient themselves in an information space, decide on a route and recognize when they have arrived, and the set of design means — context statements, landmarks, breadcrumbs, maps and consistent labels — that supports it; the concept was carried over from architecture and urban planning.
- Applied cognitive psychology
- Finding information
In one sentence
Wayfinding is how people orient themselves in an information space and reach their goal, supported by landmarks, breadcrumbs, maps and labels.
Example
Each page of a machine manual portal shows the line, the station and the lifecycle phase it belongs to, a breadcrumb trail and a map of the line; a technician who arrives from a search hit knows at once where the page sits and where to go next.
Rests on
- Mental model and Cognitive schema: readers build a mental map of how a documentation set is organized; wayfinding means support or correct that map.
- Situation awareness: knowing where one is, what is around and what comes next.
- Recognition and recall: landmarks and consistent labels let readers recognize places instead of remembering them.
How it applies
- Lynch's elements in documentation: Lynch described paths, edges, districts, nodes and landmarks as the elements people use to form an image of a city. In a documentation set they correspond to navigation routes, the boundaries of a manual or product, sections, hub pages and distinctive overview pages.
- Context on every page: In topic-based and Every Page is Page One documentation readers arrive from search on any page, so each page states its context (product, variant, audience, phase) and links to its neighbors.
- Structure: A consistent taxonomy and stable labels across print, portal and HMI help; card sorting shows how readers would group the content.
- Machinery documentation: Maps of the plant or line, station identifiers that match the labels on the machine and the same chapter order across product variants.
Limits
- The city metaphor is an analogy; information spaces have no physical distance, and readers increasingly skip navigation and use search.
- Wayfinding aids help readers find information; they do not decide what information is required or where safety messages must appear, which follows from the risk assessment.