About wayfinding-navigation
A navigation design skill for product and design teams, focused on helping people with cognitive or memory difficulties understand their location, destinations, and return paths. It provides patterns and an assessment checklist for information architecture.
Key features
- 01Hierarchy signposting patterns
- 02Short paths to key actions
- 03Search, browsing, and shortcuts
- 04Long-content chunking patterns
- 05Navigation assessment checklist
Use cases
- 01Add breadcrumbs to deep page hierarchies
- 02Improve progress and backtracking in multi-step flows
- 03Structure long pages with sections and contents
Install
Copy the command and run it in a terminal.
npx skills add https:/After installing, type/wayfinding-navigationin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.
Details
From the project READMEWayfinding and Navigation
Design navigation so that people with cognitive and memory difficulties can find content, understand where they are, and get back to where they were — without relying on memory.
Core Principle
Users should always be able to answer three questions instantly:
- Where am I?
- Where can I go?
- How do I get back?
If any answer requires more than 1 second of thought, the navigation has failed.
Design Patterns
Signpost Pattern
- Breadcrumbs in hierarchies deeper than 2 levels
- Step indicators in multi-step flows ("Step 2 of 4")
- Active section highlighted in navigation
- Page titles that match the link that brought the user here
Minimal Path Pattern
- Important actions reachable in 1–2 clicks from any screen
- Breadth over depth — flatten deep hierarchies
- Shortcuts to frequently used content
- "Back to [last meaningful location]" always available
Multiple Routes Pattern
- Search AND browse AND shortcuts for all important content
- Don't force a single path to any destination
- "Jump to" links for long pages
- Recently visited and frequently used sections accessible
Chunking Pattern
- Break long content into headed sections (3–5 paragraphs each max)
- Table of contents for pages longer than 3 screens
- Progressive disclosure for detail
- Group related form fields into labelled fieldsets
Assessment Checklist
- Every page has a clear, descriptive title
- Navigation is consistent across all pages (same position, same order)
- Current location is always visually indicated
- Breadcrumbs or back links are present in hierarchies
- Multi-step flows show progress and allow backward movement
- Search is available on every page
- Important actions are reachable in 2 clicks or fewer
- Headings describe content (not just categories)
- Link text describes the destination (no "click here")
Output Format
When reviewing: identify navigation failures with specific locations and recommended fixes. When designing: present the information architecture with cognitive accessibility annotations.