Syracuse Zoo Wayfinding

As a photojournalism major I often hit up our local zoo in the area. Syracuse Gifford zoo to take photographs nine times out of ten I often end up shooting the same thing I did the last time I was there yet I still wonder back there from time to time. One thing I like about our local zoo is the layout is basically just a big circle making the chance of getting lost not very well. The down fall is the bathrooms are in just one place in the main building at the start of the walk around.

I was wondering around the zoo one day, and as I approached the tigers it hit me. I really had to use the bathroom really bad thankfully there was a bathroom sign right behind me, but sadly the sign pointed both directions. The problem the sign did not say what way would get you there faster. Now I have been at this zoo many of a times, and knew the fasted way the problem when you’re in a pinch and gotta really use the bathroom usually your not thinking strait. I went the longer way and realized it about half way through needless to say I ended up going behind a tree after making sure no one was coming.

Passini stated “that objective of information design for wayfinding is not to design signs but to help people move efficiently to their chosen destinations” (Jacobson, 1999). Sadly Syracuse local zoo dropped the ball on this one.

“The most important skill for almost everyone in the next decade and beyond will be the ability to create valuable compelling, and empowering information and experiences for others.” (pg 267 Jacobson). This is a easy fix for the zoo, and proper signs around the zoo would make people more comfortable, that and installing another bathroom at the furthest part of the circle.

Graphic wayfinding has four main categories of elements first being orientation followed by directional information then destination identification; and finely situation and object identification. Signs are a great start without them would be like the United States having a judicial system without laws in place such as speed limits. However it does not just stop there at the law level you have to have people to enforce the law, and have a system to get the laws out to the people so they know what they are “road signs”. Then the signs are posted with mph so we know that going over that limit would be illegal.

The zoo installed a bathroom that’s a good start then they put up signs telling everyone there are bathrooms. They put little arrows up showing bathrooms this way, and have posted signs saying “no peeing outside indecent exposure is punishable by law (I ignored this one).” Where was the “posted mph” sign the one that says go this way, because the other would take longer and result in an accident.