Less is more in London wayfinding

Tonight an enjoyable talk from Innes Ferguson of Transport for London for the Sign Design Society.

TfL are seeking a low-cost way to boost wayfinding in central London and have decided that the target group should not be those who have a pretty good idea of where they are, but those who know they're pretty much lost. So rather than reinforce the signing system with yet more 'fingerposts', the genius of the proposed system is to use street signs to help people find their way to dry land -- the safety and trustworthiness of whichever Tube station is closest -- where they can find comprehensive maps ('3D' maps seem to be a favourite) that will get them back on course. The only signs that will feature direction arrows are those on major roads. A very simple and effective idea.

I can't help wondering whether there will be certain areas in which by a quirk of the landscape it will possible to follow a circular route of these Tube-locating arrows without discovering any of the stations that they refer to. Only time will tell.