Wow...this really is a lot of work!!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since November 4. This research project is coming to an end and I can't believe the amount of work I have accomplished.

REMINDER FOR REFERENCE:
Problem Statement:

When hiking in Muir Woods National Monument in California, there is a lack of sufficient and easily accessible navigational information.

Purpose Statement:

The purpose of this study was to research methods of providing information for visitors navigating the trails.

According to my research, my proposed solution is an online PDF accessible from the Muir Woods website containing an 8.5"x11" map and trail guide (designed by yours truly) that is foldable into a pocket-sized map. I am really impressed with the way the map turned out and I want to give a HUGE thank you to Pino Trogu and Josh Singer at SFSU for taking so much extra time out to give me invaluable feedback on my design.

I have been to Muir Woods SO MANY times in the past 3 months. And I will have to go back at least two more time to:

1. test my prototype
2. give a copy of my report to Mia Monroe who has been a tremendous help through all of this.

(I feel like this is my acceptance speech for some lifetime achievement award...BUT ACUTALLY IT IS! Because....I'M GRADUATING!)

...pending I pass all my class...


Still to do:
Thursday, Dec 10 is my final presentation to the class. My prototype is done but I still have to print and mount it.

Thursday, Dec. 17 the written report is due. I'm not worried about it at all. I am completely confident in my work and my design and I have the knowledge and resources to back it up!

Frustration with the Library

I have been trying to request this book for over a month now from the library and have received notification twice now of it's arrival at HSS102. When I go to pick it up, the staff there tell me no book is on hold for me and my name is not in the system for requested items. THEN...today, they told me that the book I have been requesting has been missing from the collection for over 3 years!!! Wow. You would think that the online search catalog would be more up to date than that but then again this is SFSU we're talking about. grrrrr

Talking to people is the BEST kind of research

After my second interview with Mia Monroe (who, by the way, has been extremely helpful and informative to me!) I was referred to Robert Manning who is a social scientist at the University of Vermont. I shot him a quick email and got some very good feedback from him. He directed me to Park Studies Laboratory website that he directs. He also suggested I take a look at his book (Chapter 12 to be specific) Studies in Outdoor Recreation. I think this website (which has a long list of publications available in PDF format straight from the page) is going to be very helpful to my research and I already requested the book from the library. Can't wait to check it out!

Bibliography

1. Allen, Gary L. (1999). Cognitive abilities in the service of wayfinding: A functional approach. Professional Geographer, 51.4, 554-62.

2. Arntson, Amy E. (2007). Graphic design basics. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth.

3. Berger, Craig. (2005). Wayfinding designing and implementing graphic navigational systems. Switzerland: RotoVision.

4. Berry, John. (2008). Legible in Public Space. Eye: The International Review of Graphic Design 67, 18-25.

5. Calori, Chris. (2007). Signage and wayfinding design a complete guide to creating environmental graphic design systems. New York: Wiley.

6. Carter, Rob, Ben Day, and Philip B. Meggs. (2006). Typographic design form and communication. New York: Wiley.

7. Cornell, Edward H., Autumn Sorenson, and Teresa Mio. (2003). Human sense of direction and wayfinding. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 93.2, 399-425.

8. Crow, David. (2003). Visible signs. Grand Rapids: AVA.

9. David Brosset, Christophe Claramunt, and Eric Saux. (2008). Wayfinding in natural and urban environments: A comparative study. Cartographica 43.1, 21-30.

10. English, Julie. (14 Oct. 2009). RE: SFSU Student Seeking Information about Muir Woods. Personal E-mail.

11. Fuller, Gillian. (2002). The arrow; directional semiotics: Wayfinding in transit. Social Semiotics, 12.3, 231-44.

12. Gibson, David. (2009). Wayfinding handbook information design for public places. New York: Princeton Architectural.

13. Hartley, Tom, Eleanor A. Maguire, Hugo J. Spiers, and Neil Burgess. (2003). The well-worn route and the path less traveled: Distinct neural bases of route following and wayfinding in humans. Neuron, 37.5, 877-90.

14. Klippel, Alexander, Haike Tappe, Lars Kulik, and Paul U. Lee. (2005). Wayfinding choremes: A language for modeling conceptual route knowledge. Journal of Visual Languages & Computing, 16.4, 311-29.

15. Lawton, Carol A., and Janos Kallai. (2002). Gender differences in wayfinding strategies and anxiety about wayfinding: A cross-cultural comparison. Sex Roles, 47.9, 389-401.

16. Manning, Bob. (13 Oct. 2009). RE: SFSU Student Seeking Information about Muir Woods. Personal E-mail.

17. Marshall, McLuhan and Quentin Fiore. (2005). The medium is the massage. New York: Gingko.

18. Monroe, Mia. (13 Oct. 2009). Gathering Information from the Source. Telephone Interview.

19. Singer, Joshua. (23 Sept. 2009). Gathering Information About Wayfinding. Personal Interview.

20. Tufte, Edward R. (2001). Envisioning information. Cheshire, Conn: Graphics.

21. Windshuttle, Keith, ed. (July-Aug. 1999). Communing with nature. Quadrant
Magazine, 61-65.

The Power of the Internet

To date, my survey has been taken by 200 people! I sent the link and a brief description of what I was doing to about 100 people from my email contact list and posted a link to it on my Facebook as well where I have over 600 friends. So far, from what I've read, people are providing me with really valuable input in the comment field and the answers to the rest of questions match the way I thought they would. I couldn't be more pleased! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED IN MY SURVEY!!!

Phone Interview with Mia Monroe

Today I spoke with Mia Monroe via phone. She is the Interpretive Supervisor at the park and we met last time I did a field visit. She (again) gave me some SUPER interesting insight as far as wayfinding and signage goes. I am now looking at the project from a new angle, and I like that a lot! I like fresh ideas and new perspectives and people who give me something to chew on.

She gave me to contact information for a Bob Manning who I added to my panel of experts. He is a social scientist from the University of Vermont and did a lot of studies at Muir Woods. She also gave me the contact information for a Julie English who constructs all of the signs for Muir Woods at their on-site sign shop.

I also have a few new URLs I need to have a look at that will provide me with helpful statistical information dealing with visitor demographic and satisfaction.

I get more excited about this project the deeper I get in to it!

Muir Woods Visit #3

Today I met with Mia Monroe who is a Supervisor at Muir Woods. She was EXTREMELY helpful to me and gave me some really insightful information. We have another meeting scheduled for this coming Monday, October 12 where she will have more time to answer my in-depth questions. I was a little frustrated with the surveys today. I printed out 100 of them and planned on passing them out at the park but Mia told me I couldn't. She said there was a small area near the restrooms where 1st amendment rights were upheld and people were able to do as they wish as long as it doesn't infringe on others' rights. Problem was, EVERYONE I asked was either too tired, not interested, late for their bus/ride, carrying children, etc. I got absolutely NO ONE to fill out my survey and I was sitting there for almost 30 minutes. Super frustrated, I left and stopped at 2 hotel nearby. The first would not allow me to leave any surveys or ask their guests to fill them out! WHY THE HELL NOT??! Anyways, Desiree at the Holiday Inn Express totally felt for me and allowed me to leave a nice stack at their front desk. Now, only time will tell if they ask anyone to fill them out! Grr...this sucks!

Here are some photos I took of the signage or lack of signage along 3 of the trails I explored today: