What if you visited the beautiful city of Bath and left thinking it was simply a masterpiece of Georgian architecture? If you didn’t realise that people have travelled there for over two thousand years to bathe, heal, gather and socialise around its sacred springs? What if you spent time at a historically significant country house but never learn what its history can teach you about today? Would you return? Would you have felt enriched, transformed by the visit?
This month, the UK culture secretary Lisa Nandy announced £1.5bn of arts funding – but she also called on cultural organisations to engage visitors more actively. Museum visits in England still lag behind pre-pandemic numbers, and a recent report found that only 30% of museum goers stay engaged after a visit (Manifesto, 2025).
It has never been more important to inspire visitors and send them off with the desire to return.
From a design perspective, wayfinding is a crucial tool to help with this – if approached in the right way. Traditionally, people see wayfinding as directional signs, distilled information and styling. Functional and aesthetically pleasing, yes. But it could be working so much harder.
Every aspect of wayfinding has potential to tell a story. It can be used to support exhibits and exhibitions through inspiration and discovery. If we overhaul our understanding of it (from ‘pointing the way’ to ‘storytelling unfolding across space’), it can transform how visitors navigate a place – and how they feel when they leave.
Read the full article here.
