-By Aditya Bharadwaj

Wayfinding is a mother discipline about helping a user navigate through space to get to where they want to go without any difficulty. Sometimes it means marking places with their specific names and symbols which talk about their nomenclature, utility, historical information and significance. Such markings, often put on boards, plates or painted on walls or such surfaces etc., are termed as signages.

Why do we need signages?

Some primary reasons are:

• A user does generally not have a birds-eye-view of space and needs to be guided to various points within this space; the user has to also be guided inside and outside a space properly,
• A user may not know the names of various places and need timely confirmation and feedback so that they do not get lost,
• A user may not be able to see the utilities available inside a building/space from outside and may need this information upfront from outside so as to decide whether to go in or not,
• A user may not know and thus may want the information related to a particular place which may hold their interest, and there may not another person/medium with authentic information about the same,
• A user may not have all their senses functioning (for example, blind people) and need other sensory information to guide them through space.

Some secondary, intangible but equally important reasons are:

• Good signages and wayfinding help develop a disciplined relationship between a place and its users, paving the way for cleanliness, orderliness, less chaos and traffic and efficiency in the circulation of people, resources and materials
• Good signages and wayfinding build a positive memory about the place in the mind of the user and etch the place into the user’s mind
• Good signages and wayfinding add to the branding value of a place
• Good signages and wayfinding also indicate whether a place is at par with national and international standards of quality

What is the difference between signages and wayfinding?

Signages, for the most part, are physical signs with text, symbols and maps aimed at describing a particular location in its detail. Wayfinding, on the other hand, may involve more subtle interventions like environmental aesthetics and decoration, sensorially distinct elements etc. to guide a user into unconsciously remembering the space, orienting themselves correctly, move in specific ways and know their way to and fro, without having to do or see anything deliberately.

Thus a good signage and wayfinding system relies on the smart, designed usage of both these aspects to finally achieve efficiency and discipline without there being any forceful authority to exert rules.

Which media are used for signages and wayfinding?
Signages can be non-digital or digital or in-between as per the context. They can be made from organic or inorganic, natural or artificial materials. However, signages may get limited due to their necessity of specific type of content. Wayfinding has an almost infinite scope of materials and manifestations, and often require a deeper understanding of human behaviour.

Are there some guidelines towards designing signages?

Yes. Some of them are:

• The text/icon height vs viewing distance has an established relationship model
• The placement of textual/symbolic representation on a vertical plane has guidelines based on cones of vision etc.
• The colours being used on the base material and for the text/symbols follow colour theory to be effective
• The shapes and forms which the signages take follow the guidelines of product design and thus the science of shape and form
• The informational content itself derives its science from graphic design, information theory, semantics and semiotics
• The materials being used follow the rules of engineering, science and manufacturing processes

Are there some guidelines towards designing wayfinding devices?

Yes. Some of them are:

• Human behaviour is a key driving factor and is becoming a reasonably established science
• Sensory perception and cognition has now become a cutting edge science for understanding aspects like visual hierarchy to design sequences etc. of wayfinding devices
• Disciplines like anthropology contribute towards the behaviour of people as individuals and groups, and their manifestations through cultural themes etc.
• The materials of wayfinding devices, again, are driven by the rules of engineering, science and manufacturing

Thus, signages and wayfinding have become a reasonably exact science and can be implemented quickly for basic functional value, as well as through a well-researched methodology towards an elaborate scheme.

By Shilpi Anand

“Energy is essential for development; yet two billion people currently go without, condemning them to remain in the poverty trap. We need to make clean energy supplies accessible and affordable. We need to increase the use of renewable energy sources and improve energy efficiency. And we must not flinch from addressing the issue of over consumption – the fact that people in the developed countries use far more energy per capita than those in the developing world”

(Kofi Annan, Secretary General, United Nations)

Introduction

The availability of energy resources is of paramount importance to society. The fundamental dilemma facing us is that energy is a vital ingredient for growth and sustainable development accumulating economy. The greatest challenge facing the energy sector today is how to meet rising demand for energy, while at the same time reducing our emissions of greenhouse gases making climate change an important concern. New and innovative ways of addressing these energy issues should be discovered. Given that the energy sector is critical to the functioning of most economies, is long term in nature and is very vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change, this issue should be at the top of everyone’s agenda.

Multi-Energy Systems

For the next twenty years, we should continue to keep all energy options open and to develop all primary energy supplies. The very best options are wind, solar, geothermal, tidal and hydroelectric power, all of which are driven by wind, water or sunlight. Nuclear power, coal with carbon capture, and ethanol were all poorer options, as were based on oil and natural gas. Some studies found out that battery – electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles recharged by wind, water and solar technologies are also capable of eliminating pollution from the transportation sector. A large scale wind, water and solar energy system can reliably supply the world’s needs significantly benefiting climate, air quality, water quality, and ecology and energy security. With sensible policies, nations could set a goal of generating 25 percent of their new energy supplies with resources in next 10 to 15 years and almost 100 percent of new supply in 20 to 30 years. With extremely aggressive policies, all existing fossil fuel capacity could theoretically be replaced in the same period, but with more modest and likely policies full replacement may take 40 to 50 years.

Wind, Water and Solar technologies can provide 100 percent of the world’s energy, eliminating all fossil fuels. Millions of wind turbines, water machines and solar installations can be done; it is feasible to transform the world’s energy systems.

Clean Technologies

Renewable energy comes from enticing sources: wind, which also produces waves; water which includes hydroelectric, tidal and geothermal energy and sun, which includes photovoltaic and solar power plants that focus sunlight to heat a fluid that drives a turbine to generate electricity. To ensure that the energy system remains clean, we consider only technologies that have near-zero emissions of greenhouse gases and air pollutants over their entire life cycle.

Keeping all energy options available will enable nations to tailor its approach to addressing energy needs and climate change in the most efficient way. Wind, Water and Solar technologies should be promoted among producers and consumers of energy through the establishment of appropriate fiscal and regulatory frameworks. However more ideas should be turn into action.

To conclude energy sector being vital should be of concern for each of us and for coming years we should be open to multi energy systems to see a sustainable future.

Reference: Jacobson Mark & Delucchi Mark,” A path to sustainable energy by 2030’’, Scientific American India, November 2009,Pg 38.

Reference: https://www.asiapacific.ca/blog/chinas-clean-tech-commitment Author: Yingqiu Kuang