We explore the intricacies of wayfinding systems in Singapore’s MRT stations with Tan Swee Lin, Deputy Director (Architecture) from Singapore's Land Transport Authority. She explains the design principles behind the use of colour and contrast, and the adjustments made to cater to Singapore’s diverse commuters—including the elderly, tourists, and those with visual impairments.
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00:00You are the Director of Architecture of the Land...
00:03No, that's totally wrong.
00:04Okay, let me take that again.
00:10Hi Suilin, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me today.
00:12So, just for viewers who are tuning in,
00:15could you introduce yourself briefly?
00:19I take care of the signage team,
00:21who design signage to guide commuters in and out of the station.
00:24I believe you call that wayfinding, right?
00:25Yes, that's right.
00:26So, commuters have problems finding their way in and out of the station.
00:30I mean, I thought I was bad.
00:32You see, our stations are actually getting more and more complex.
00:35There are more entrances in one station, right?
00:39So, for example, Orchard Station has 13 entrances.
00:42So, we need to guide people to go to the correct exit,
00:45in order for them to actually get to their destinations
00:48more quickly or more efficiently.
00:50When stations are being designed,
00:52they look at the alignment of the tracks,
00:55the site availability,
00:57in order to place the stations without having the wayfinding in mind.
01:01So, actually, we do come in in the later part of the design,
01:04only to add on to help commuters find their way.
01:08Clarity is very important.
01:09The wayfinding signs have to be very easy to use,
01:12easy to understand,
01:14so that people with different abilities,
01:16they can actually make use of the signage and find their way.
01:20How do you make a sign easy to spot and easy to understand?
01:24Colour contrast is important, right?
01:27What we have now is actually a black background
01:30with a very clear colour, like yellow,
01:32which contrasts very well with black.
01:34And we also redesigned our icons.
01:38Previously, when we had the lift and toilet signs,
01:42a lot of people actually got confused
01:43because that's the male and female figures, right?
01:46So, if they see a male and female figure in a box,
01:48they go, like, that's the toilet.
01:49But actually, it's the lift.
01:50Is it a lift or is it a toilet?
01:52Right.
01:53I hope they found out before they got there.
01:55What other examples of clarity would you have to keep in mind
01:59when you're helping to design the wayfinding?
02:01We are also seeing a lot of overseas tourists in Singapore, right?
02:05In order to mitigate the issue of not understanding English,
02:09because not everybody understands English,
02:11we actually changed our exit code from alphabet to numbers.
02:15So, watch your station again.
02:17Exit 1 to 13 instead of A to...
02:22A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.
02:25Is it?
02:26Oh, I don't know.
02:27So, you see?
02:28Yeah, numbers are more straightforward.
02:30Yeah, numbers are more straightforward.
02:32You can say it in any language.
02:34Right, so you use numbers and you also use colour.
02:36So, how else do you use colours to support wayfinding?
02:39Right, so, for example, the exit codes.
02:40Nowadays, in the Thomson Coastline stations,
02:43you actually see this big yellow sign
02:45whenever you reach the entrance, right?
02:47So, that is actually through a ground-sensing survey that we did
02:53and they unanimously chose yellow as their favourite colour.
02:57And it creates a very good contrast with the black background.
03:00So, it's easy to see, easy to read.
03:02That's really fascinating.
03:03And what other kind of demographics do you feel that you have to design for
03:09when it comes to wayfinding?
03:10So, as we know, Singapore is an ageing society, right?
03:14So, we do have to cater to a lot of elderly,
03:19as well as to people with different abilities.
03:22Can you give me examples of how you support these people with different abilities?
03:26We design font sizes that are bigger.
03:28These are like three times the original size that we used to have.
03:33And we actually work very closely with the lift contractors
03:37to enable the lift buttons to change colour when you press on the lift
03:41so that they know that they have actually pressed on the right button.
03:44Ah.
03:45Because it could be quite confusing to them
03:48if there is no proper colour contrast.
03:51And also, like the visually impaired,
03:53we have braille signs as well as tactile routes in the station
03:57that can help guide them to their destination.
04:00Thank you so much, Swee Lin.
04:00I guess my final question is,
04:02do you have any other thoughts to share about wayfinding that the viewers should know?
04:06We are always trying to improve on our wayfinding signage.
04:09And if you have any feedback, please write to us.
04:12We will definitely review it and see how we can implement or how we can improve.
04:18I would like to bring my dog into the station.
04:20I'll talk to the station staff.
04:21Okay, thank you very much, Swee Lin.
04:24Do you know that dogs can only see two colours?
04:26Oh, what colours are they?
04:28I think it's red and blue.
04:29If I'm not wrong, I could be wrong.
04:31So they won't be able to see our signage?
04:32No, probably not.
04:33Swee Lin, how did you get here today?
04:35I drove here.