Best practice for car park wayfinding signage

Effective wayfinding signage is crucial for helping people navigate through spaces, whether it's a large building, a campus, or a car park.

When it comes to car parks, we have decades of experience in best practice for designing and implementing wayfinding signage. As we create wayfinding systems customised for each parking asset, we consider:

Clarity and Simplicity

Using clear messaging and keeping it simple is critical for driver safety. With only moments to concentrate on signage, drivers must be able to understand what the signs are telling them immediately. Concise and easily understood signage means using readable icons, numbers, and letters.

Consistency and Colour

Maintaining consistent iconography and typography creates a cohesive visual identity that can reflect an organisational brand, but if symbols are involved, they must be universally understood. Colour coding to distinguish between different parking levels or parking categories including disabled, EV, parents with pram and visitor areas is most efficient. However, the colour choices should be intuitive and accessible to all, including those with colour blindness or deficiencies.

Visibility

Signs should be positioned at key decision points, making sure they are easily visible from a driver’s perspective and taking into consideration the flow of vehicle traffic. Font sizes and the use of high brightness, lower pitch LED technology is also considered best practice for readability.

Directional Guidance

Using arrows and other directional indicators helps to guide users along the correct path and including signs at intermediate points ensures drivers know they are on the right path.

Testing

Conduct usability testing to identify any points of confusion or areas for improvement. Importantly, we test for accuracy that the parking data being communicated is correct. As occupancy status changes, sign updates should also be fast at 10 second response times or better.

Maintenance

By regularly inspecting signage, visibility and accuracy are ensured. As changes occur, such as additional construction or renovations, update or additions to signage should be made to ensure it remains effective as a guide for drivers.

Technology

Some parking assets such as clubs or community precincts may consider incorporating additional information panels to display operational and other community messaging.

With decades of experience in the parking industry, our team use these best practices to create a smart wayfinding system that is intuitive, user-friendly, and enhances the overall experience of drivers navigating through a parking asset.

For trusted advice customised to your parking needs, contact the Park Agility team.

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