Cemetery Down Under Using Digital Wayfinding Totems To Enable Seamless, Lowered-Stress Visits

June 6, 2023 by Dave Haynes

A cemetery in Western Australia has deployed three outdoor-rated digital display totems to help visitors find their way around the grounds and locate the burial sites of loved ones.

Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth commissioned Kingman Signs last year to develop a solution intended to provide a seamless and stress-free navigation experience.

A first-of-its-kind project for the region, the set-up features integrated maps and search systems, allowing visitors to easily locate their desired destination, such as a specific burial site.

Says Kingman:

Thanks to the integration with the Cemeteries Board’s data system, the digital screens display up-to-date information, including “Today’s” funeral listings, with real-time data at each site. A name search feature allows users to retrieve the exact location of their loved ones, providing a map and a convenient QR code linked to Google Maps for easy navigation.

Notable Features

• Name search functionality with precise location and QR code for Google Maps integration;
• Current event listings, such as burials, featuring time, location, and maps;
• Highlighted Places of Interest within walking distance, including Memorial Gardens, Aboriginal Keeping Place, and Jewish Prayer Hall;
• Interactive maps indicating the visitor’s location, desired route, and QR code scanning for smartphone navigation via Google Maps.

Collaboration and Customization

Kingman closely collaborated with Perth Cemeteries’ Project Manager, Brad Smith, to ensure the solution addressed the public’s needs effectively. This collaborative effort resulted in a meticulously designed and personalized interface. The captivating animation of luminous butterflies gracefully gliding through a sea of vibrant spherical lights represents the souls, harmonizing with Perth Cemeteries Board’s brand guidelines. The color scheme, predominantly blue with butterfly symbols, exudes tranquility, while the primary additional color, black, underscores the theme of respect.

Kingman collaborated closely with Perth Branding and Marketings developers to implement CakePHP / API and an API management platform incorporating API calls and additional functionality. This implementation was crucial to ensure the best user experience and filtration of data.

Innovative Interface

Upon interaction, visitors are led to a dynamic Menu page, breaking away from static iconography with its motion icons. The landing page captivates users with its flickering display, seamlessly transitioning between the mesmerizing butterfly animation, a respectful acknowledgement of country, and a diligent Stay Covid Safe message.

This is a solid example of a solution designed to address a problem – navigating and appreciating a big footprint facility like a cemetery. I like the QR code/Google Maps integration – so that visitors can take step-by-step directions with them to locate a specific headstone or tomb. I also like how this is integrated with the Cemeteries Board’s management system, so that records and listings are updated automatically.

Here’s a post I put up last year about a similar initiative in Norway …