ASLA Releases Wayfinding LATIS
"Wayfinding: Principles and Practice" points out that landscape architects are often the appropriate professionals to lead interdisciplinary teams in the design of wayfinding systems.

Developing good wayfinding systems requires skills in environmental design as well as an understanding of how humans interact with the built environment. The latest paper in ASLA’s Landscape Architecture Technical Information Series (LATIS) offers concepts and tools for practitioners interested in designing wayfinding systems. Topics range from the conceptual background behind the development of modern wayfinding to practical considerations of such issues as human perception in relation to wayfinding; relevant laws and regulations; maps, signage, gateways, and landmarks; materials and fabrication; and universal design. The process of designing a wayfinding system is outlined, and numerous examples of wayfinding systems and elements illustrate the text.
Author David Raphael, ASLA, is principal and founder of LandWorks, a landscape architecture and planning firm in Middlebury, Vermont. He has worked in both the public and private sectors and is a lecturer at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources.
Members can download this and other LATIS publications at no charge from the Professional Practice Headquarters page of ASLA’s website. Nonmembers may also access LATIS publications for a fee. LATIS is a good way to earn the professional development hours members may need to meet state licensure requirements. Members can earn up to five professional development hours by completing and passing a self-study exam. Visit the LATIS page in the Professional Practice Headquarters section of ASLA’s website for more information.

Upcoming LATIS publications will include one on green roofs and the second of two papers on security design. ASLA welcomes suggestions for future LATIS topics that will broaden awareness of new or rapidly evolving practice areas within landscape architecture and enhance technical proficiency for practicing in these areas. Feedback on the LATIS series and suggestions for new articles should be sent to Jennifer Strassfeld, ASLA’s manager of professional practice, at jstrassfeld@asla.org.