Krystal Schumacher

Meet Krystal Schumacher, a Colorado dweller, lover of design and an SEGD Denver Chapter member. Her career in Wayfinding Design at Denver International Airport combined with her experience as a developer and adjunct professor for Environmental Graphic Design courses at a University, keeps her continuously immersed in the pursuit to effortlessly lead people through the built environment and beyond. She finds much joy in discovering innovative opportunities to “connect people to place” while collaborating with other incredible design professionals and colleagues on the topic.
For as long as she can remember, Krystal Schumacher’s passion has been found in beautiful spaces and creative “things,” and the science that goes behind making design successful. During graduate school, she gained a specific interest in environmental graphics. Ever since, she has been eager to contribute along the path in the pursuit of a perfect wayfinding system which effortlessly combines physical and digital solutions… and what better place to help resolve this than in a complex and diverse environment such as DEN.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Design – University of Nebraska
Master of Science in Architecture – University of Nebraska
Paper Summary: Enhancing Wayfinding Systems in Complex Environments: Relationship between Static Signage and Dynamic Wayfinding Technologies
Experiential Graphic Design (XGD) is in a time of rapid growth and ever-evolving interest, and is now being considered as an integral part of other design disciplines across the board. During this exciting growth, it is important to continually address the subject of wayfinding. This particular component of XGD is the reason for this presentation, specifically considering the integration of technology to help increase the efficiency of static wayfinding systems. Technology in wayfinding has the highest potential to enhance the user experience if applied properly and can substantially complement and more important help reduce and streamline a traditional system. The goal of this paper was to provide suggestions for a successful combination of the two in order to further enhance and contribute to the wayfinding component of XGD.
Complex wayfinding systems are often found in airports and other large public-facing facilities which invite many different types of users and user needs. For this presentation, a complex wayfinding system (Category X Airport) is the main focus. During the exploration and observations, questions were raised as a result of data gathering, employee inquiries and social media interactions. Following the study phase, conclusions were made that provide a solution to enhancing static wayfinding systems with technological advancements in the most successful and efficient way possible. With the two working together, wayfinding can indeed be simplified, streamlined, manageable and critical to a journey, while reducing cost and time and placing complex environments at the forefront of XGD.
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