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For the past year Mijksenaar explored this complex topic by conducting various types of research in which the LGBTQ+ community was actively involved. Public restrooms have become a focal point for LGBTQ+ people whose needs are not met by current design standards. Motivated by questions from several clients, senior designer Anna de Jonge realized it was time to rethink wayfinding for restrooms. The half-man, half-woman-in-a-dress symbol – popular for all-gender restrooms– left Anna and a fellow colleague, both wearing jeans, perplexed.

‘This symbol just doesn’t cut it. Its focus is on people and their choice of clothes, when it should really be on the functions of the restroom.’

The resulting whitepaper documented their findings and provided a wayfinding design toolkit for inclusive restrooms.

The toolkit, part of the white paper Beyond the binary, offers a step-by-step approach to devise tailored solutions for a variety of scenarios. Mijksenaar hopes that every environment can be equipped with the tools to design truly inclusive restrooms.

A truly inclusive spatial strategy and wayfinding plan can be undermined by using the wrong pictograms. This is why they tested and designed the all-gender restroom pictogram set.

Mijksenaar hope this will help to make informed decisions that work for everyone. Download the toolkit and pictogram set here.

Feel free to contact Aad Kalkman to find out more about the inclusivity check as well as possibilities for collaboration.