Toronto Union Station Revitalization | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | NORR

[steveintoronto]

I am not saying anyone is dumbed down with a phone, all I am saying simply is how hard it is to navigate Union, as those "signs" they have that are SUPPOSED to help you wayfinding, don't help you wayfind at all.

Here's a bog simple way to at least help, and no map, no smartphone needed:

what a little bit of hierarchy can do.
Arrows, referencing a group in terms of where to find them. What a concept...Now to replace those mostly meaningless icons with terms like "Regional Rail""Washrooms""Airport Train""National Rail" etc. Most European languages are close enough to make it understandable. What *no-one* understands save for some locals, is what the service name icons mean. At least GO have a bus or train (barely discernible in difference) under their logo. And TTC have 'subway' below theirs. Looks to me like UP is an airline.

And what are those numbers? A secret code from aliens? Zontar might be able to recognize them...but then again, perhaps not.

 

[Le Gique]

I was just in Great Hall and I think that the hoarding fir the restaurant on the north side has moved further into the Hall

I just eyeballed it and things seem the same as the last few weeks, so let’s say no change since before Christmas.

I spotted more of the metal detailing in the VIA Concourse, pretty well below the ramp from the Great Hall and near a former stair access to Platform 3. The newest addition is a single pillar in the (only currently open) corridor from the VIA Concourse to the VIA “Arrivals” area. Not much, but a reminder that more detail is coming to this Concourse, except things appear to have slowed considerably.

Along the side corridors of VIA Concourse are vitrines for displays, in much the same configuration as before construction. I wonder what role these will play. Most are inappropriate for use such as retail.

 

[DatTranzitGuy]

Do you think the bay concourse will experience flooding issues like the York concourse or have they learned from their mistakes

 

[BjamesT]

Here's a bog simple way to at least help, and no map, no smartphone needed:

what a little bit of hierarchy can do.
Arrows, referencing a group in terms of where to find them. What a concept...Now to replace those mostly meaningless icons with terms like "Regional Rail""Washrooms""Airport Train""National Rail" etc. Most European languages are close enough to make it understandable. What *no-one* understands save for some locals, is what the service name icons mean. At least GO have a bus or train (barely discernible in difference) under their logo. And TTC have 'subway' below theirs. Looks to me like UP is an airline.

And what are those numbers? A secret code from aliens? Zontar might be able to recognize them...but then again, perhaps not.

I'll agree that your mockup is better, but what it's still missing is real clarity on which boxes apply to which direction, in other words, where's the break? The whole BG is black, including the framing. How about a heavy white vertical line all the way from top to bottom to clearly show "everything on this side is one way and everything on the other side is another way".

The icons make no sense, and not just the logo. A literal reading of the sign suggests that there is no where from here you can actually board a VIA train, only find a customer service desk.

There's no consistency - "Great Hall" left aligned, "Scotiabank Arena" centred.
Kerning is appalling, hyphen instead of n-dash for inclusive ranges, etc etc.

It's a total mess. We deserve better.

 

[DSC]

Do you think the bay concourse will experience flooding issues like the York concourse or have they learned from their mistakes

This question has been asked before (possibly by you) and the answer then was that they have put in larger and deeper sewers and more pumps in the Union Station area so are certainly hoping nothing will flood. AFAIR, the big flood a few years ago was partly, at least, water that poured in from the street.

 

[steveintoronto]

The icons make no sense, and not just the logo. A literal reading of the sign suggests that there is no where from here you can actually board a VIA train, only find a customer service desk.

I thought that was just a man with legs talking to a woman without them! Although God only knows what direction they are, or perhaps a *counselling service* for couples where one has no legs...

Needless to say, we completely concur. I got an email reply from the author of the Hospital Fandangle Fiasco of Frivolity I quoted a few posts back. He has a specialty with hospitals, being an MD, but he relates to the the technical work I was involved in for interfaces on electronic equipment.

There's an art that's been almost lost in today's miasma: Communication. In simple, understandable words and directional indications.

How ironic in the day of the 'iMemyself' device. Connected to everything. Knowing less than ever. If this is illustration of what the latest Airbus or Boeing has for indicators, we're screwed big time...

In the event, they hire professionals. Onion Station should do same.

 

[BjamesT]

I thought that was just a man with legs talking to a woman without them! Although God only knows what direction they are, or perhaps a *counselling service* for couples where one has no legs...

Needless to say, we completely concur. I got an email reply from the author of the Hospital Fandangle Fiasco of Frivolity I quoted a few posts back. He has a specialty with hospitals, being an MD, but he relates to the the technical work I was involved in for interfaces on electronic equipment.

There's an art that's been almost lost in today's miasma: Communication. In simple, understandable words and directional indications.

How ironic in the day of the 'iMemyself' device. Connected to everything. Knowing less than ever. If this is illustration of what the latest Airbus or Boeing has for indicators, we're screwed big time...

In the event, they hire professionals. Onion Station should do same.

I've been a graphic designer for just about 20 years, and aside from some small scale in-house wayfinding, this is the kind of project that I've always dreamed of - creating a legible, usable communication system to get people where they need to be quickly, without adding to their panic.

 

[Leo_Chan]

I've been a graphic designer for just about 20 years, and aside from some small scale in-house wayfinding, this is the kind of project that I've always dreamed of - creating a legible, usable communication system to get people where they need to be quickly, without adding to their panic.

Then would you say that this fails every metric?

 

[Contra]

I've been a graphic designer for just about 20 years, and aside from some small scale in-house wayfinding, this is the kind of project that I've always dreamed of - creating a legible, usable communication system to get people where they need to be quickly, without adding to their panic.

From one designer to another, I'm sure you can empathize for the amount of "executive oversight" and red-tape the designers who worked on this had to deal with haha. I would have loved to see their first mock-ups before everyone had a say - likely much better.

 

[DSC]

I noticed today that they have almost finished the glass over the York Street moat - I would say they will be done in one more day. They have also walled-off part of the York St moat and appear to be doing flooring.

 

[steveintoronto]

From one designer to another, I'm sure you can empathize for the amount of "executive oversight" and red-tape the designers who worked on this had to deal with haha. I would have loved to see their first mock-ups before everyone had a say - likely much better.

So you're confirming that this leaves a lot to be desired?

 

[BjamesT]

Then would you say that this fails every metric?

It fails on a lot of levels.
1. Not clear as to what destination relates to which arrow
2. Random ranges of numbers that daily commuters might know as track numbers, but if you're expecting that level of knowledge from the viewer, what's the point of the sign in the first place?
3. Not modular - the station is nowhere near done, buildings change names, and there was obviously no forethought on how to update these things.
4. As mentioned before, not clear on what the logos mean, and it does appear as if "UP" is an airline and that you can catch a plane.

The system assumes too much knowledge from viewers, when in reality, those who have enough knowledge of the names and numbers on the signage don't need it that much.

 

[BjamesT]

So you're confirming that this leaves a lot to be desired?

I think so, yes. Your mockup with the improved hierarchy is an improvement, but the overall concept is still a failure.

 

[steveintoronto]

I think so, yes. Your mockup with the improved hierarchy is an improvement, but the overall concept is still a failure.

To be fair, that photo-shopping was linked to a Reddit poster who shows that with the simple change of the arrows now unassigned at the ends of the strip sign being moved to the bottom to indicate *grouping* adds a massive amount of directional indication otherwise missing. As you also observe, the utility of that is still dependent on understanding what the icons mean.

(Post abbreviated to comply to topic surmise)

 

[interchange42]

Can we keep this focused on Union Station please? Off topic remarks tend to derail threads as badly as questionably crafted way-finding signs confuse those looking for direction.

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