Conference schedule

Fingerpost 2027

Two days on signs, maps and finding the way.

When
Thu–Fri, March 11–12, 2027
Where
Kiln Yard Hall, Minneapolis
Doors
8:00 am Thu, 8:30 am Fri
Program
25 sessions in 3 tracks

Updated Tuesday, March 9. Friday's 11:15 Maps session has a new speaker, Tamsin Ogilvie. Nothing else has moved.

Day
Track

Both days, all tracks: 25 sessions.

11Thursday, March 11

  1. 8:00to 9:00 am

    Registration and coffee

    Lobby. Badges are at the desk inside the front doors.

  2. 9:00to 9:15 am

    Welcome

    Main Hall. Greta Solberg, conference chair.

  3. 9:15to 10:00 am

    Keynote · Main Hall

    Nobody reads the sign

    What 200 hours of watching riders in one station changed about where the signs go.

    Odalys Ferrer, Lakehead Transit

  4. 10:00to 10:30 am

    Break

    Lobby. Coffee, tea and fruit.

  5. 10:30to 11:15 am

    Signs · Main Hall

    Hospital signs at 3 a.m.

    Tomasz Wilk, Cedar County Hospital

    Maps · Loft

    A bus map that survives a route change

    Hye-jin Park, Twin Forks Transit

    Hands-on · Studio

    Sketch a floor directory in 40 minutes

    Bram Oyelaran, Cairn & Co.

  6. 11:30to 12:15 pm

    Signs · Main Hall

    Which way is straight ahead? Arrows that don't lie

    Nkechi Obi, Obi Sign Works

    Maps · Loft

    Heads-up or north-up: maps on a wall

    Kenji Morita, Morita Cartography

    Hands-on · Studio

    Write a sign in seven words or fewer

    Leila Haddad, plain-language editor

  7. 12:15to 1:30 pm

    Lunch

    Main Hall. Hot buffet, with vegetarian and vegan dishes on the left-hand table.

  8. 1:30to 2:15 pm

    Signs · Main Hall

    Level 1, Ground or Lobby? Naming floors

    Marcus Dunleavy, Prairie Gate Airport

    Maps · Loft

    What to leave off a campus map

    Amara Diallo, Ridgeline College

    Hands-on · Studio

    Test a sign with five strangers

    Sofia Ekdahl, Ekdahl Research

  9. 2:30to 3:15 pm

    Signs · Main Hall

    Two languages, one sign

    Ximena Robles, Robles & Hart

    Maps · Loft

    Tactile maps: designing for fingers

    Callum Beattie, accessibility consultant

    Hands-on · Studio

    Run a sign audit with your phone camera

    Dee Navarro, Cairn & Co.

  10. 3:15to 3:45 pm

    Break

    Lobby. Coffee and something sweet.

  11. 3:45to 4:30 pm

    Everyone · Main Hall

    Lightning talks

    Six talks, six minutes each.

    Hosted by Greta Solberg

  12. 4:30to 4:45 pm

    Day one wrap-up

    Main Hall. What's on tomorrow, and where to meet for the walk.

  13. 5:15to 6:15 pm

    Skyway sign walk

    Meet in the lobby. An hour through the downtown skyways with Nkechi Obi, indoors all the way.

  14. 6:30to 9:00 pm

    Conference supper

    Main Hall. Included in your ticket, so bring your badge.

12Friday, March 12

  1. 8:30to 9:00 am

    Coffee

    Lobby. The desk is open for anyone who still needs a badge.

  2. 9:00to 9:45 am

    Keynote · Main Hall

    The person who drew the map is never lost

    Why mapmakers are the worst people to test their own maps, and who to ask instead.

    Anneke Visser, cartographer

  3. 10:00to 10:45 am

    Signs · Main Hall

    Detour signs that don't look temporary

    Joelle Baptiste, Baptiste Event Works

    Maps · Loft

    Four transit maps, one city: merging them

    Devika Rao, Twin Forks Transit

    Hands-on · Studio

    Mark up a floor plan for a you-are-here map

    Kenji Morita, Morita Cartography

  4. 10:45to 11:15 am

    Break

    Lobby. Coffee, tea and pastries.

  5. 11:15to 12:00 pm

    Signs · Main Hall

    Pictograms: when a picture needs words

    Oskar Brandvold, Brandvold Type

    Maps · Loft New speaker

    Keeping 300 printed maps up to date

    Tamsin Ogilvie, Fenwick Parks Trust

    Hands-on · Studio

    Sign clinic: bring a photo, leave with a fix

    Leila Haddad and Nkechi Obi

  6. 12:00to 1:15 pm

    Lunch

    Main Hall. Same tables as Thursday.

  7. 1:15to 2:00 pm

    Signs · Main Hall

    What it costs to change one word on 400 signs

    Farid Nasser, Cedar County Hospital

    Maps · Loft

    A map for the last 50 yards

    Luisa Carvalho, Carvalho Studio

    Hands-on · Studio

    Plan your Monday: one audit, one fix

    Sofia Ekdahl, Ekdahl Research

  8. 2:00to 2:15 pm

    Short break

    Lobby. Last coffee.

  9. 2:15to 3:00 pm

    Panel · Main Hall

    What we'd take down tomorrow

    Three speakers each name one sign or map they would remove, and say why.

    Odalys Ferrer, Anneke Visser and Callum Beattie, chaired by Greta Solberg

  10. 3:00to 3:15 pm

    Thanks and close

    Main Hall. We finish at 3:15, in time for evening flights.

Good to know

Badges
Pick yours up in the lobby from 8:00 am Thursday. You need it for the supper.
Hands-on sessions
The Studio seats 40. Doors open ten minutes before each session, and there's no sign-up.
Between sessions
Every changeover is 15 minutes. The Loft is one floor up from the Main Hall, by the stairs or the elevator in the lobby.
Changes
If a session moves, this page is updated and the line under the title says what changed.