Flutterby™! : The way is not clear

Slate is doing an interesting series on signs that direct people from one place to another. One discusses London's attempt to do for walking maps what the famous 1933 Underground Map did for transit systems. This installment deals with the bad signage at and around New York's Penn Station. One element is a slide show of how you would find your way (or not) from the subway to the Amtrack platforms, and how a workable system breaks down with the lack of one sign. I remember being in London many years ago, and how impressed I was with a system where every point where you could change directions had a sign explaining the consequences. (go left and you can get to Baker Street, go right and you can get to Oxford Circus)

The London installment also makes an interesting point: watch the actual users. The Legible London set up prototype maps of how to walk to various places, but the designers left out the index to create a cleaner look. But the pedestrians couldn't take time to scan the entire map looking for just one spot, so they gave up.