Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

For the last week and a half, Slate magazine has been publishing an interesting series about signs. That may sound like an oxymoronic concept, but really -- the articles are quite good, with lots of cool details about the growing importance of "wayfinding" in all sorts of environments. Including a certain type of facility with which meeting professionals just might be familiar:

Why has there been such growth in the field? One cause is the remarkable pace of economic development over the past half-century. Developed countries have been building increasingly complicated spaces -- shopping malls, multiplexes, convention centers, multi-terminal airports -- that require good navigation systems in order for people to use them. In addition, businesses and municipalities alike have realized that well-oriented people are calmer, happier, and more likely to spend money (and plan return visits) than people who are lost. Investing in a good wayfinding system has real financial rewards.

Meeting planning often means people management, which means people moving -- nicely, smoothly, and subtly, but people moving nonetheless. And that means good signage. Assuming you want attendees to get where they're going.