I don't study signs. I study how people experience places

Places are more than signs and maps. They are experiences.
TravelWayfinding explores how people arrive, navigate, discover and remember places — from cities and visitor attractions to transport hubs, stadiums and destinations. Drawing on research into wayfinding, tourism and visitor behaviour, I explore what makes places intuitive, enjoyable, accessible and memorable.

✓ Arrival & first impressions

✓ Wayfinding & navigation

✓ Visitor journeys & behaviour

✓ Discovery, landmarks & memorable places

✓ Accessibility & inclusive experiences

Latest Posts on Visitor Experiences and Wayfinding Design

🎓 Online Courses

Practical, self-paced learning for teams and individuals looking to master the essentials of wayfinding, signage, and visitor experience management. Learn from real-world examples, expert walkthroughs, and proven frameworks.
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📄 Checklists & Toolkits

Downloadable templates and audits designed to help you map journeys, improve signage systems, and assess your venue’s accessibility and sensory-friendliness. Perfect for quick wins and staff training support.
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Learning about Wayfinding, Navigation and Guiding People from A to B

Dr Paul Symonds

Dr Paul Symonds

Visitor Experience & Wayfinding Consultant

Hi – I’m Dr Paul Symonds, a specialist in wayfinding and visitor experience design. With a PhD in wayfinding and over 15 years working with public spaces around the world, I help organizations improve how people move through, interact with, and enjoy the spaces they manage.

This site shares practical tools, guides, and strategies for Visitor Experience Managers, planners, and designers — with a focus on navigation, accessibility, flow, and inclusive design. Whether you’re working in a museum, stadium, transport hub, or heritage site, I hope you find something here to help you create better experiences for every visitor.

What is Wayfinding?

The definition of Wayfinding that I published in the academic journal Symonds et al (2017). Exploring an Absent Presence: Wayfinding as an Embodied Sociocultural Experience is:

The cognitive, social and corporeal process and experience of locating, following or discovering a route through and to a given space.

Indeed, getting lost can be a very stressful occurrence and the funny thing is that it can happen in the smallest of places, such as trying to find the toilets (restrooms) in a pub or bar, or in a large space such as in a hospital, airport, tourist attraction or sports stadium. You can read on “what is wayfinding” here. For business owners, the cost of having users get lost and frustrated, irritated and stressed, can result in the wayfinding and overall user-experience being seen as a negative experience. This can result in users trying to avoid your location in the future.

The good news is that there is plenty you can do to improve the wayfinding at your location. We offer training courses that you can do directly online and also act as a wayfinding consultancy. Wayfinding includes City and urban planning and mobilities so let us know if we can help you.

What Is Visitor Experience Management – and Why It Matters

Visitor Experience Management (VEM) is about more than just making a space look good. It’s the thoughtful design of every interaction a visitor has with your venue — from how they find their way in, to how they feel when they leave.

At TravelWayfinding.com, we help venue managers, signage designers, and planners improve key areas like:

  • Wayfinding and signage design
  • Visitor flow and queue control strategies See our checklists
  • Sensory-friendly and inclusive design for public spaces
  • Customer journey mapping
  • Accessibility improvements and audit checklists

Whether you’re managing a museum, transport hub, stadium, park, or cultural site, Visitor Experience Management helps you create more enjoyable, accessible, and memorable spaces — and keeps people coming back.

👉 Want to improve your visitor flow or signage? Start with our Visitor Audit Checklists.

Wayfinding is important in fields including human geography, urban studies, city planning, UX user experience, architecture planning, mobilities, stakeholder research, business studies, disability access, and DDA. Guiding people safely and in such a way that the experience is enjoyed.

What Is Visitor Experience Management – and Why It Matters

Visitor Experience Management (VEM) is about more than just making a space look good. It’s the thoughtful design of every interaction a visitor has with your venue — from how they find their way in, to how they feel when they leave.

At TravelWayfinding.com, we help venue managers, signage designers, and planners improve key areas like:

  • Wayfinding and signage design
  • Visitor flow and queue control strategies
    See our checklists
  • Sensory-friendly and inclusive design for public spaces
  • Customer journey mapping
  • Accessibility improvements and audit checklists

Whether you’re managing a museum, transport hub, stadium, park, or cultural site, Visitor Experience Management helps you create more enjoyable, accessible, and memorable spaces — and keeps people coming back.

👉 Want to improve your visitor flow or signage? Start with our Visitor Audit Checklists.

CLIENTS HAVE INCLUDED

Cardiff Airport

Plymouth City Council

Birmingham Airport

Cardiff Harbour Authority

Trusted by: Cardiff Airport, Plymouth City Council, Birmingham Airport, and multiple healthcare networks.