What do you think about signs in Sydney? Is it easy to make your way around Sydney without getting lost? Sydney signs are part of the urban landscape. Waysfinding, as well as roads signs, design the city of Sydney. However, are Sydney signs effective enough?

The Urban Tourism Program at the University of Technology Sydney decided to investigate and interviewed 60 tourists in Sydney. They asked the following question: “How would you rate the ease of finding your way around Sydney, compared to other cities you have visited?”

58% of the surveyed people found it easier than in any other city they visited, 29% felt like it was the same and 13% found it harder.

According to this survey, it seems easy to move through the city and reach the touristic area such as The Opera House, Sydney Tower, the Harbour, the Queen Victoria Building, Hyde Park and The Art. Most participants used landmarks for orientation in order to reach these touristic areas. Landmarks play an important role in wayfinding, as they are easy to recognize and memorize.

It seems than signage and more particularly wayfindings in Sydney are quite operational. To do so, Sydney sign companies considered the function of the entity, the users of that space and the nature of the given environment. They created an easy way to understand hierarchy of sign types through Sydney City, via the use of colours, symbols and platforms.
The key factor of success is then to develop a design that will create a dialogue between people and the urban environment.