Desire Paths
Desire paths are informal routes worn by repeated use. They often reveal shortcuts or movement patterns that formal paths do not accommodate, giving planners evidence about how people actually use a space.
THE IDEA
Cutting through forests and fields, snow and debris, are paths created by the feet of people who wanted to get between two points as efficiently as possible. Our tendency to minimize our energy output means that we don’t always defer to the paths that have been set out for us. Sometimes these desire paths unwittingly trample on sensitive vegetation or cause other environmental fractures. But other times they are used by city or park planners to design traffic flows and the spaces around them. When designers and planners overlook how people prefer to move through a space, we end up with spaces that impede our movement and which people must use in a different way.
« The way people solve problems is first by having an enormous amount of common-sense knowledge, like maybe 50 million anecdotes or entries, and then having some unknown system for finding among those 50 million old stories the 5 or 10 that seem most relevant to the situation. This is reasoning by analogy. » — Marvin Minsky
When to use it
Urban planners observe pedestrian shortcuts to redesign parks and sidewalks, making them more intuitive and sustainable.
UX designers analyze how users navigate an app, then simplify the interface to match common 'desire paths' in user flows.
Business managers streamline workflows by mapping out how employees actually complete tasks, eliminating unnecessary steps.
Individuals identify their own 'desire paths' in daily routines (e.g., using a shorter route to work) to save time and energy.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Campus Lawn Shortcut
A university campus has paved walkways that take sharp corners, but students consistently walk diagonally across a grassy quad to get from the dormitory to the lecture hall faster. Over time, a visible dirt path appears. The university eventually paves this desire path to prevent erosion and accommodate the natural traffic flow.
Supermarket Layout
A supermarket arranges aisles to encourage browsing, but customers repeatedly cut through a gap in the shelves to reach the checkout faster. Store managers notice this and rearrange the layout to make the gap an official aisle, improving the shopping experience.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Where have you noticed desire paths in your daily environment? What do they reveal about how people actually use the space?
How can you apply the idea of desire paths to improve the design of a product, service, or system you're working on?
In what areas of your life are you creating 'mental desire paths' by taking shortcuts rather than following prescribed methods? Are they beneficial or harmful?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Great Mental Models Volume 2 Physics, Chemistry and Biology