Karen Cheng
Karen Cheng received her Master of Design from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning. She is a Professor of Visual Communication Design at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she teaches type design, typography, iinformation design and data visualization. Her research and design practice focuses on making information both more understandable and more compelling in a wide variety of contexts—in print, in environmental installations and in interactive products.
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help patients find dental clinics and related offices within a large medical and health sciences center. As part of an iterative design process, we first identified a variety of design factors that influence the cognitive aspects of using
maps during wayfinding, and redesigned an existing map of the environment based on those principles. We then conducted user testing to further determine what information should be included or excluded on the map
and to see if changes in format enhanced or detracted from communication goals. The results show that maps can indeed assist visitors in finding their way through complex buildings, but that there are limitations to their ability to overcome architectural barriers.
help patients find dental clinics and related offices within a large medical and health sciences center. As part of an iterative design process, we first identified a variety of design factors that influence the cognitive aspects of using
maps during wayfinding, and redesigned an existing map of the environment based on those principles. We then conducted user testing to further determine what information should be included or excluded on the map
and to see if changes in format enhanced or detracted from communication goals. The results show that maps can indeed assist visitors in finding their way through complex buildings, but that there are limitations to their ability to overcome architectural barriers.