Evaluating the wayfinding challenges and experiences of individual Saudi citizens in unfamiliar Welsh cities: Some considerations for wayshowing design

This study analyses the wayfinding of individual Saudi Citizens seeking to locate 'attractions' in three unfamiliar Welsh urban areas. The aim was to discover how much support could be derived from elements in the urban environment within their wayfinding decision-making process without reliance on digital aids, signage or providing directions. Such elements included landmarks, paths, nodes, edges or districts, as initially defined by Lynch in 'The Image of the City' (1960). The focus was on participants unfamiliar with these urban centres because many researchers have linked enhanced wayfinding experiences with familiarity based on spatial knowledge acquired during previous visits. It is also argued that 'signage' is biased towards familiar locals.

The participant's reactions to those urban elements that they found distinctive were assessed. The experiential-based primary research revealed that additional challenges were posed by misleading tacit expectations of wayfinders from foreign cultures, termed cultural baggage. Auto-ethnographic studies were conducted initially to inform later participant case studies. The participants were able to find their way to the attractions, leading to the conclusion that others could do the same. The analysis and results deliver a critique of the underpinning assumptions in much modern wayshowing design.