{"id":1292,"date":"2025-12-23T16:20:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:20:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/?p=1292"},"modified":"2025-12-23T21:06:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T21:06:02","slug":"issue-59-3-ar-campus-wayfinding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-ar-campus-wayfinding\/","title":{"rendered":"Augmented Reality for Campus Wayfinding: Enhancing Navigation Efficiency and Student Social Engagement \u2014 A Case Study of Leeds University Union"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"sitecontainer\">\n<div class=\"pagecontainer\">\n<article class=\"vj-article\">\n<div class=\"articlesidebar\">\n<h5>Issue 59.3<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-editorial\/\">Word | Image | Space | Materiality | Experience<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-legibility-readability\/\">Beyond (Type)Face Value: A Systematic Literature Review Examining Design Factors Influencing the Legibility and Readability of Typography<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-bilingual-cover-design\/\">Scripts in Dialogue: Reinterpreting Visible Language Covers through Bilingual Design Workshops in Kuwait<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-hypertangible-novel\/\">Constructing the Hypertangible Novel: Writing and Design as Process<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-sensational-design\/\">Sensational Design: Layout and Display Typography in the Visual Rhetoric of Information Disorder<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-textile-tickets\/\">The Visual Language of Textile Tickets in 20th-Century British India: A Collection from B. Taylor and Co.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Augmented Reality for Campus Wayfinding: Enhancing Navigation Efficiency and Student Social Engagement \u2014 A Case Study of Leeds University Union<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-james-mosley\/\">Professor James Mosley, a Memoir<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-michael-twyman\/\">Professor Michael Twyman<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-3\/VL-59.3-Full-Issue.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download Issue 59.3 \u27a4<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"articlecontent\">\n<h1>Augmented Reality for Campus Wayfinding: Enhancing Navigation Efficiency and Student Social Engagement \u2014 A Case Study of Leeds University Union<\/h1>\n<h3>Jingru Ma and Yuchan Zhang<\/h3>\n<h4 style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">School of Design, University of Leeds, UK (mjrrose[at]163.com)<\/h4>\n<div class=\"abstractbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Abstract:<\/span> This study designed and evaluated a user-centered augmented reality (AR) wayfinding prototype for Leeds University Union (LUU), aiming to improve student wayfinding efficiency and encourage social exploration within a particular campus environment. A site-specific field study involving photographic documentation of existing wayfinding aids, such as signage and maps, was conducted to investigate the current design. Five semi-structured interviews were carried out to gain students\u2019 experiences and opinions, complemented by behavioral observations of three participants navigating the LUU with existing wayfinding aids to explore common challenges and dilemmas. Results showed that the existing design did not consistently support effective navigation, with participants relying on assistance from others. Furthermore, all of the students reported using the LUU mainly for social and recreational purposes, indicating that integrating navigation with real-time event information could enhance campus community engagement. In response, a prototype mobile navigation application named LUU MATE was developed that integrated AR with social exploration features to enhance both wayfinding and engagement in campus life. The iterative optimization of the prototype was based on usability tests conducted by four participants. Subsequently, a second behavioral observation was conducted with three participants using LUU MATE to assess its navigation effectiveness and potential to foster social engagement. Comparative analysis with earlier observations showed that LUU MATE reduced the time required to complete the navigation tasks and stimulate participants\u2019 interest in campus life. This study indicates that both navigation efficiency and social engagement are essential considerations in campus wayfinding design. Future research should involve larger and more diverse participant groups and apply the design across varied campus sites to validate its broader applicability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"keywordsbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Keywords:<\/span> augmented reality (AR) wayfinding; campus wayfinding; AR interface design; wayfinding for social engagement; student experience; user-centered design<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-3\/VL-59-3-Ma-8857.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"articlepdfviewer\">\n<object \ndata=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-3\/VL-59-3-Ma-8857.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\"><br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-3\/VL-59-3-Ma-8857.pdf\" width=\"100%\" height=\"100%\" style=\"border: none;\"><br \/>\n<\/iframe><\/object>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"authorbox\">\n<p><span class=\"smallblueheading\">Author<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jingru Ma<\/strong> has graduated from the MA Design Programme University of Leeds in December 2025. During her studies, she has focused on human-computer interaction and the application of augmented reality to solve complex wayfinding problems in built environments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dr Yuchan Zhang<\/strong>  is a lecturer in Graphic, Digital, and Communication Design at the School of Design, University of Leeds. She also serves as the Deputy Programme Leader of MA Design. Her research focuses on understanding how multilingual information can enhance the quality of the mobility experience in environments characterized by linguistic diversity. Additionally, her research explores the role of digital technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), in meeting users\u2019 physical and psychological needs during wayfinding processes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"viewarticlebtn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/Issue-59-3\/VL-59-3-Ma-8857.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><br \/>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"articlecitebox\">\n<div>\n<p class=\"blueurllink\">DOI being generated<\/p>\n<p><strong>Cite this article:<\/strong><br \/>Ma, J. &#038; Zhang, Y. (2025). Augmented reality for campus wayfinding: enhancing navigation efficiency and student social engagement \u2014 A case study of Leeds University Union. <i>Visible Language<\/i>, 59(3), 400\u2013431. https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-ar-campus-wayfinding\/<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>First published online May 22, 2025. \u00a9 2025 Visible Language \u2014 this article is open access, published under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.<\/p>\n<p><pre>https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"vlconsortiumheading\"><strong>Visible Language Consortium:<\/strong><\/span><br \/>University of Leeds (UK)<br \/>University of Cincinnati (USA)<br \/>North Carolina State University (USA)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Issue 59.3 Word | Image | Space | Materiality | Experience Beyond (Type)Face Value: A Systematic Literature Review Examining Design Factors Influencing the Legibility and Readability of Typography Scripts in Dialogue: Reinterpreting Visible Language Covers through Bilingual Design Workshops in Kuwait Constructing the Hypertangible Novel: Writing and Design as Process Sensational Design: Layout and Display &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/issue-59-3-ar-campus-wayfinding\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Augmented Reality for Campus Wayfinding: Enhancing Navigation Efficiency and Student Social Engagement \u2014 A Case Study of Leeds University Union&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-59-3","category-research-article","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1292"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1363,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions\/1363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visible-language.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}