Our Thinking: 15 years of Beautiful Functionality

As we celebrate 15 years of ID-LAB, I want to highlight how we’ve remained true to our ambition to elevate wayfinding in Australia. When ID-LAB started in 2006, the word ‘wayfinding’ was barely used. Nobody thought deeply about the user’s experience, or about the information they may need to navigate their way and alleviate their stress. Nobody really thought about the user journey and how to make it as seamless as possible. Instead, the focus was all about where to put a sign and how elaborate an arrow could be. We made it our mission to change this mindset by shifting the conversation and the practice of wayfinding in Australia to think about the user journey and how seamless it could be.

Over the last 15 years, we’ve tackled many different types of projects. Throughout each of them, I’ve been proud of the way the team has always approached the task of prioritising wayfinding with our distinct methodology in mind. Whether we’re working on a large-scale hospital project or integrating our thinking into a community space, we always do so with the same intention and rigour. 

As our built environments become more complex, so too will the challenges that come along with designing them in a way that is functional, as well as lastingly beautiful. Looking ahead, we’ll meet global challenges and apply local solutions that simply work. We are out in front of what’s coming, helping the world to navigate the way forward with clarity and purpose. We continue to raise the bar with what strategic wayfinding looks and feels like. It’s our thinking that has set us apart, and it will continue to be our defining factor for the next 15 years. Beautiful functionality – it's our passion, our approach and our future.