What we observed and learned

Movement is a good indicator of whether people know where they are going. Generally, those who are lost walked slowly, often scanning the lobby for help. If they were in a group, they maintained very close proximity to one another. Most groups moved very cautiously, at least until someone took the lead. Everyone seemed more comfortable once they had a leader.

Initiating eye contact is the first step. People approached the information desk slowly, either with a high sightline or looking down. Once they got in close proximity to the desk, they would look to the worker to make eye contact. If they established eye contact with the worker (which they usually did), the worker would then establish the interaction by saying “Hi There!” or something similar. 

People have lots of questions. We noticed visitors had a wide range of queries at the information desk. Several people came there to purchase bus tickets, others came to break a bill into coins or smaller bills, yet others came to ask how to get to a specific room or meeting, despite the “Today in the Union” display being only a few feet away. 

The interaction isn't over once the a person's main question has been answered. Visitors often had “post-transaction questions” after the information desk had helped them with their main problem.

Directions should be as clear and available as possible. The Today in the Union list was difficult to read because of the small size of the text and absence of lines to separate the events and guide people’s sight. The list was at about chest height, which forced people to bend over to get close enough to read the lower entries.