Wayfinding designers are familiar with the concept of a “decision point.” By default, this is considered a place where a person’s route scenario might change, and they need guidance on where things are located to make a choice.
In reality, this isn’t entirely a decision point. The decision may have already been made earlier. In this case, it’s more of a “choice point.”
Furthermore, a decision point doesn’t necessarily have to be a fork in the road or multiple routes. Decision points also include procedures (paying for a ticket, checking in for a flight, waiting until the last minute).
I go through passport control and enter the duty-free zone with no way back. This is about making a decision.
I decided to head to gate A1 for boarding, and on the way, I see that I can also stop by the restroom or a café. My main goal hasn’t changed, but a detour has come up. When I leave the café, I need confirmation that I was originally on the right path down the long corridor.
I refer to a place of irreversible scenario change as a “decision point.” A place where the scenario does not diverge, I call a “choice point.”
I consider a situation irreversible when it’s impossible, difficult, or time-consuming to go back from a procedural standpoint. For example, walking 10 minutes down a long corridor with a suitcase is an irreversible procedure, even though it’s physically possible to turn back (but time and energy are lost).
Signs at decision points provide information on irreversible or critical changes in the route. Once you pass passport control, you can’t go back. If you take a tram and ride half an hour to the water taxi pier, you’re unlikely to return to the original tram stop if you realize it’s the wrong pier. Similarly, after walking 15 minutes through the terminal beyond the duty-free area, you probably wouldn’t want to turn back and lose more time.
This means that the design of such signs must be clear and resistant to misinterpretation; their placement should be prominent (not hidden behind a column), and the materials should be durable. Examples include pillars, overhead signs, maps, timetables, and more.
Choice points, on the other hand, simply supplement the chosen route, allowing for optional, low-cost detours. The content of these signs isn’t critical to the overall route. This is why we don’t mix café information with boarding gates, even on the same sign.
The specific route number relates to a decision point, while the time that’s convenient to depart is part of a choice scenario. In other words, if you get on the wrong route, the arrival time doesn’t matter anymore.
If we walk a long way down an alley only to find a sign at the end saying “No passage, under construction,” we get frustrated because we’ve wasted time and now have to turn back—yet we haven’t abandoned our original plan to reach the ice cream shop.
It’s better to give this information at a point where I still have a choice. In the example, I decided to follow the blue route to the ice cream shop, but a warning sign tells me it’s better to take the green route instead, or I’ll hit a dead end at the end of the alley.