{"id":22806,"date":"2026-06-03T08:54:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/?p=22806"},"modified":"2026-06-03T09:02:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T09:02:32","slug":"sign-print-expo-nick-kapica-on-wayfinding-urban-experience-and-human-centred-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/2026\/06\/03\/sign-print-expo-nick-kapica-on-wayfinding-urban-experience-and-human-centred-design\/","title":{"rendered":"Sign & Print Expo: Nick Kapica on Wayfinding, Urban Experience and Human-Centred Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Nick Kapica on Wayfinding, Urban Experience and Human-Centred Design<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Article by Design Assembly<\/em><\/p>

Ahead of Sign & Print Expo 2026 on 17 June, Design Assembly sat down with Nick Kapica to chat about wayfinding, typography, public spaces, and the subtle design decisions that help people feel confident, comfortable, and connected to the places around them.<\/em><\/p>

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Your work sits between architecture, urban design, wayfinding, and fabrication. How would you describe the role of experiential graphic design in shaping how people move through and experience a space?<\/strong><\/p>

I see the role of experiential graphic design as amplifying what\u2019s already there rather than imposing something new. Every space I work with already has layers of intentional intervention\u2014architecture, urban design, landscape architecture\u2014each informed by research, problem-solving, and ideation. My work isn\u2019t additive in isolation; it builds on this foundation.\u00a0<\/p>

What I do is extract and enhance the ideas already embedded in a space, then translate them into legible cues for people moving through it. Sometimes that\u2019s a beacon that creates orientation; sometimes it\u2019s contextual information that enriches understanding. The goal is to help people extract more meaning and clarity from the place they\u2019re in.<\/p>

Of course, context shapes everything. An airport demands different strategies than a theater or a park\u2014each has its own logic, rhythm, and relationship to the visitor. That specificity is where the work becomes interesting.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In your upcoming talk at Sign & Print Expo 2026, you mention \u201cconnecting the dots\u201d between bold visions and human-centred environments. What does that process look like in practice?<\/strong><\/p>

People move through public space in fundamentally different ways. Some know exactly where they\u2019re going. Others are searching for something specific. Some are deliberately wandering, even in familiar places. Experiential graphic design has to hold all of these simultaneously\u2014any intervention I add needs to \u201cread the room\u201d and understand what people need.<\/p>

That\u2019s why I frame myself as an experiential graphic\u00a0urbanist<\/em>. It gives me permission to sit at the intersection of two conversations: the bold, large-scale visions established at masterplan level, and the granular, human-centered needs that actually determine whether a space works. Accessibility, legibility, readability\u2014these aren\u2019t afterthoughts or constraints. They\u2019re how vision becomes inhabitable.<\/p>

The work is translation. I take the conceptual ambitions of a masterplan and ask:\u00a0How does this feel to move through? What does someone actually need to understand this place?<\/em>\u00a0That\u2019s where experiential graphic urbanism connects the dots\u2014between the architect\u2019s vision and the visitor\u2019s experience.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What are some of the most overlooked elements when designing for readability, accessibility, and intuitive user experience within public spaces?<\/strong><\/p>

A sign works best when it\u2019s in the right place at the right time\u2014which is far harder than it sounds. Path and node diagrams help us map decision points, but they\u2019re a starting framework, not a prescription. Just because there\u2019s a node doesn\u2019t mean there needs to be a sign there.<\/p>

What actually matters is occupying that node yourself. Standing where a visitor would stand, understanding what\u2019s visible in their field of view\u2014that determines whether intervention is needed at all. Sometimes the architecture speaks clearly enough. Sometimes the architecture\u00a0is<\/em>\u00a0the problem. I often remind architects: we might be calling this a wayfinding issue, but it\u2019s actually an architecture problem. The best solution is a building that minimizes wayfinding needs entirely, or makes them irrelevant.<\/p>

Once a location is confirmed and we\u2019re placing information, accessibility becomes critical. New Zealand\u2019s building codes are relatively permissive compared to other countries, but there\u2019s solid evidence\u2014quantifiable, research-backed\u2014about what people with low vision, dyslexia, and ADHD can actually process. It\u2019s our job as designers to advocate for that.<\/p>

And yet, the simplest things get overlooked repeatedly: line length and type size. I\u2019m still surprised how often these basics are mishandled, even though they\u2019re foundational to readability.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A bespoke typeface was developed as part of the Extended Wh\u0101nau brand identity and applied throughout the building.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wayfinding is often something people only notice when it fails. What makes great wayfinding design feel seamless and natural?<\/strong><\/p>

You can never help everyone all the time, but you can help most people most of the time. That\u2019s the starting point.<\/p>

Early in a project, user research establishes a destination hierarchy\u2014what actually matters to the majority of users. That\u2019s where the focus goes. If departure gates are critical, they must work flawlessly. The next tier of information follows, then the next, until you reach a threshold where adding more stops working entirely. It becomes cognitive overload.<\/p>

The subtle art is knowing when to stop. It\u2019s about saying no\u2014being rigorous enough to exclude information that seems important\u00a0 but isn\u2019t actually serving the user. But wayfinding doesn\u2019t exist in isolation. The graphic system is just one layer in a much larger sensory ecosystem. You might hear the caf\u00e9 before you see the sign for it. You might smell food, or catch the ambient sound of a busy concourse. These cues are working alongside the wayfinding, reinforcing it, sometimes doing the heavy lifting themselves. A well-designed space lets all of these elements work together\u2014the signage steps back because the architecture, the acoustics, the sensory landscape are already orienting you.<\/p>

Restraint is what makes wayfinding feel seamless. The moment it feels like too much, it stops being helpful and becomes noise.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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How do you balance visual identity and brand expression with the practical function of helping people navigate spaces confidently and comfortably?<\/strong><\/p>

The job of wayfinding is to guide and strengthen the experience\u2014which ultimately adds to the brand. But that\u2019s different from wayfinding\u2019s job being to display brand identity.<\/p>

Brand is bigger than the building kit. It\u2019s the idea, the promise of the place itself. When I\u2019m moving through a space, I need to\u00a0experience<\/em>\u00a0that promise, not see it represented. I don\u2019t need the visual identity reinforced at every touchpoint. Some cohesion helps\u2014a considered link\u2014but I think less overt branding through visual identity in wayfinding, and more emphasis on how the space\u00a0behaves<\/em>\u00a0as a reflection of the bigger brand idea, actually creates a stronger overall brand experience. Nomenclature, tone, and feel do much more heavy lifting than visual elements borrowed from the brand identity.<\/p>

This is where I expect the conversation will go with Emme Jacob from There at Sign & Print Expo 2026: How do you build brand through experience rather than visual repetition? How do you let a space speak for itself? It\u2019s a fundamental tension in environmental design\u2014and it\u2019s where wayfinding and brand strategy actually need to be in conversation from the beginning, not bolted together at the end.<\/p>

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Are there any projects you\u2019ve worked on that particularly shifted the way you think about urban experience and human-centred design?<\/strong><\/p>

Every project shifts my thinking about human-centered design\u2014that\u2019s the nature of the work. But honestly, getting older has been equally instructive. I wish I could say that empathy alone was enough, but it\u2019s not. I\u2019ve always thought about accessibility, but I wasn\u2019t truly\u00a0concerned<\/em>\u00a0about it until I experienced reduced vision myself.<\/p>

I think design education should prioritize this over the usual creativity exercises. Every design student should spend a day navigating the world through various vision impairments\u2014simulated low vision, color blindness, tunnel vision\u2014just to understand the stakes when they\u2019re twenty. Sit in a wheelchair. Move through a space the way someone with mobility challenges has to. These aren\u2019t theoretical exercises. They\u2019re the difference between designing\u00a0for<\/em>\u00a0people and designing\u00a0with<\/em>\u00a0understanding.<\/p>

This kind of embodied learning should be foundational, not optional. Once you\u2019ve experienced a space from that perspective, you can\u2019t unsee the problems. And you won\u2019t accept mediocre solutions anymore.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Technology continues to influence how people interact with environments. How do you see digital experiences changing the future of wayfinding and experiential design?<\/strong><\/p>

I\u2019m old enough to remember when people said print was dead\u2014that the internet would make everything digital. Well, that didn\u2019t happen. Print didn\u2019t die. If anything, the sheer volume of books being published\u2014especially with self-publishing and print-on-demand\u2014has exploded far beyond what existed when the internet went public.<\/p>

I think wayfinding and experiential graphic design are becoming\u00a0more<\/em>\u00a0relevant, not less, as people seek real experiences away from devices. Yes, a maps app can plot the fastest route from A to B. Your watch can tap your wrist to give you direction change hints as you walk through the city. But you also have a choice: navigate by looking around, reading visual cues, following signs, consulting a city wayfinding map. It\u2019s more engaging. It feels human again.<\/p>

There\u2019s a place for both. Sometimes, when time is critical, I let the device take over. But I just spent two weeks in London\u2014a city I know reasonably well\u2014and I found myself deliberately leaning into the Legible London system instead. In moments of uncertainty, there\u2019s something pleasing and satisfying about reading a physical map, about choosing your own route. The device gives you efficiency. The environment gives you agency.<\/p>

That\u2019s the future I\u2019m interested in\u2014physical wayfinding offering a genuine experience in a world saturated with screens.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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What role does materiality, signage production, and fabrication play in bringing these environments to life successfully?<\/strong><\/p>

Materiality is the most important thing. It\u2019s what a digital screen\u2014in our hand or on a wall\u2014can\u2019t offer. It\u2019s what transforms the pragmatic requirement of information in the environment into something experiential.<\/p>

Material choices tell a narrative. They build on the architectural palette we discussed earlier. They create texture, weight, presence\u2014things that exist in the world, not behind glass. That\u2019s where the real work happens.<\/p>

And you can\u2019t do this alone. You need great fabricators\u2014people who understand how materials behave, how things can be beautifully built. They\u2019re drawing on everything from traditional sign-writing techniques to contemporary digital fabrication. The expertise matters. An idea stays an idea until a skilled maker translates it into reality, and that translation\u2014understanding the grain of wood, the finish of metal, the way light catches a surface\u2014is what brings these spaces to life.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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For designers interested in moving into experiential graphic design or wayfinding, what skills or ways of thinking do you think are most valuable?<\/strong><\/p>

You need three foundational strengths: great typography, strong spatial understanding, and the ability to design with materials in three dimensions. But the real skill is drawing from across multiple design fields.<\/p>

Study the key bits of visual communication\u2014how information hierarchy works, how to communicate clearly. Study industrial design\u2014how objects function, how materials behave, tolerances, production constraints. Study spatial design\u2014how people move through environments, how scale and proportion affect experience. It\u2019s not about becoming an expert in each. It\u2019s about understanding how they intersect.<\/p>

A wayfinding system with beautiful typography but no spatial awareness will fail. One with great spatial thinking but poor typography will confuse people. One designed without material understanding will look cheap or fall apart.<\/p>

Assuming you are a Visual Communication Designer working in teams clarifies your role\u2014the architects and urban designers you\u2019ll work with are spatially sharp\u2014they understand form, scale, how spaces work. Where they often trip up is typography, visual rhetoric, semiotics. That\u2019s where you bring value. Understanding those fields gives you a language to speak with architects on equal footing, and it clarifies your role: you\u2019re not decorating their work, you\u2019re translating spatial ideas into legible communication.<\/p>

The most valuable skill might be this: Learn to see holistically. Don\u2019t design a sign. Design how a sign sits in a space, how people encounter it, what it\u2019s made of, what it communicates. That integration\u2014visual, spatial, material, functional\u2014is what separates good wayfinding from great wayfinding.<\/p>

Most wayfinding designers emerge from one starting field\u2014Visual Communication, Industrial Design, or Spatial Design\u2014with a foundational strength. Your job is adding the other bits. As you reach into adjacent design fields, you pull out the parts most required for wayfinding.<\/p>

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What are you most looking forward to sharing with attendees at the 2026 Sign & Print Expo?<\/strong><\/p>

All of this\u2014but particularly the challenge of bilingual wayfinding and what that means in the context of Aotearoa New Zealand.<\/p>

It\u2019s a conversation that goes beyond design technique. It\u2019s about language, identity, and how we honor the stories embedded in a place. Bilingual wayfinding isn\u2019t just about fitting two languages into the same space\u2014it\u2019s about deciding which language leads, how they coexist, what visual weight each carries. Those are cultural and political decisions, not just design ones.<\/p>

In Aotearoa, we\u2019re at an interesting moment. Te Reo M\u0101ori is resurgent. More and more public spaces are embracing bilingual signage. But the\u00a0how<\/em>\u2014the design, the hierarchy, the material expression\u2014still matters enormously. Get it right, and you strengthen both languages and the relationship between them. Get it wrong, and you inadvertently reinforce the very hierarchies you\u2019re trying to challenge.<\/p>

That\u2019s what I\u2019m looking forward to exploring with attendees: how wayfinding becomes an act of cultural respect, not just information design. How the choices we make as designers ripple outward in ways we don\u2019t always see.<\/p>

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Come along to the Sign & Print Expo on 17 June at Auckland Showgrounds to hear Nick sharing his insights on wayfinding design live on stage. Entry is free!<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>

Register to attend Expo<\/a><\/em><\/strong>
Register for the Wayfinding Speaker Session<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of Sign & Print Expo 2026 on 17 June, Design Assembly sat down with Nick Kapica to chat about wayfinding, typography, public spaces, and the subtle design decisions that help people feel confident, comfortable, and connected to the places around them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22806"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22818,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22806\/revisions\/22818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nzsda.org.nz\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}