One of the services we provide at PCI is advice regarding wayfinding and signage in car parks. Our approach when addressing this issue is to put ourselves in the client’s “seat” when looking for an available parking space and – often most importantly – when looking for their vehicle at the end of their visit to the shopping centre/office building/hospital/airport. This is very important because the client and/or its consulting architects/engineers/etc are naturally very familiar with the layout of their car park and therefore sometimes tend to underestimate the difficulties that may be experienced by visitors and first time users of the facility.
This article illustrates the frustrations that customers experience in badly signed car parks, which may lead them to seek alternative options to the detriment not just of the car park but of the site as a whole. If you would like PCI to conduct an independent audit of the signage and overall presentation of your car park we would love to hear from you!
Happy and prosperous 2009 to all.