Getting from one place to another in a hospital can be a disorienting experience, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the facility. As such, effective hospital wayfinding is important to ensure that everyone can find their way to their destination without becoming lost. For hospital administrators, a clear wayfinding system is a must in order to keep foot traffic flowing naturally.
zigo Product Page
What is Hospital Wayfinding?
Wayfinding refers to the process of guiding people through a physical environment. In a hospital setting, this involves helping patients, visitors, and staff navigate the complicated layout of the facility. Hospitals can be quite large and may include multiple buildings, departments, and floors. Because of this, hospital wayfinding is a critical component of the overall hospital experience.
Effective wayfinding in a hospital not only reduces confusion but also improves operational efficiency. It helps ensure that patients arrive on time for their appointments, reduces their anxiety, and contributes to a more positive visit.
What Are Wayfinding Signs?
Hospital wayfinding signage is a set of visual cues placed throughout a facility to guide people to their destinations. These signs are designed to be clear, concise, and easy to understand. They often incorporate symbols, colors, and text to convey information quickly and easily. The main types of wayfinding signs used in hospitals include:
- Directional Signs: These signs provide guidance on where to go. They often include arrows, department names, or room numbers. Individuals can usually find them at decision points, such as intersections, elevators, and stairwells.
- Identification Signs: These signs identify specific locations, such as departments, room names, or facilities like restrooms and cafeterias. They are usually placed at the entrance of the identified area.
- Informational Signs: These signs provide information that may be useful to visitors, such as maps and directories.
- Regulatory Signs: These signs convey rules and regulations, such as no-smoking areas, restricted access zones, or safety instructions.
- Interactive Signs: Some hospitals also use digital or interactive wayfinding systems. These may include kiosks or mobile apps, which provide personalized navigation assistance.
Designing a well-rounded wayfinding system in a hospital is no easy task, but there are several steps facility management teams can take to ensure successful implementation.
Understand the User's Perspective
The first step in designing an effective wayfinding system is to understand the needs of the people using it. Consider the different types of users and their specific needs. For example, a patient who is anxious or in pain may require more straightforward, less complex navigation cues.
Conducting user testing and gathering feedback can provide insights into potential issues and areas for improvement. This approach ensures that the wayfinding system is intuitive and user-friendly for all visitors.
Create a Consistent and Logical Layout
A well-organized layout is essential for effective wayfinding. The design should be consistent across the entire hospital, with a logical flow that guides users from one area to another. Grouping related departments together, using a clear numbering system, and ensuring that all signage follows the same design principles is a must.
In addition, the layout should take into account the most common routes people will take. For example, entrances to the emergency department, parking lots to outpatient services, or patient rooms to the cafeteria. Placing key wayfinding signs along these routes will help prevent confusion.
Use Universal Symbols and Clear Language
Wayfinding signs should be easily understood by everyone, regardless of their language or literacy level. Using universal symbols, such as those the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) established, can help overcome language barriers.
When text is used, it should be clear, concise, and free of medical jargon. For example, instead of labeling a department as 'Radiology,' consider using 'Imaging Services' to make it more accessible. Multilingual signage may also be necessary in areas with diverse populations.
Incorporate Color Coding
Color coding is an effective way to enhance wayfinding in hospitals. This is especially so in large or complex facilities. By assigning specific colors to different departments or floors, you can create visual associations that help users navigate. For instance, all signs related to the pediatric department could be in blue, while those for the oncology department could be in green.
However, it's important to use colors consistently and ensure they are easy to tell apart. Avoid using too many colors, as this can lead to confusion. Also, make sure that the colors your facility uses are accessible to those with color vision deficiencies.
Ensure Signage is Visible and Well-Maintained
Visibility is an essential factor in the effectiveness of wayfinding signs. Signs should be placed at eye level, with sufficient lighting to ensure that visitors can always see them clearly. Avoid placing signs in cluttered or incredibly busy areas where they may be overlooked.
Regular maintenance is also essential to keep signs in good condition. Faded, damaged, or outdated signs can lead to confusion, so it's wise to have a system in place for inspecting and updating signage as needed.
Are you interested in learning more about Types Of Building Signage? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
Utilize Technology
Using technology in hospital wayfinding solutions can provide additional layers of support for visitors. Digital kiosks, interactive maps, and mobile apps can offer real-time navigation assistance, personalized directions, and even voice-guided navigation.
QR codes placed on signs can also link to online maps or additional information. This makes it easier to provide visitors with a more interactive wayfinding experience. As technology continues to evolve, hospitals can explore new ways to integrate it into their wayfinding systems.
Test and Iterate
Finally, it's important to recognize that wayfinding is not a one-time project. It's instead an ongoing process. After implementing a wayfinding system, it's critical to test it thoroughly and gather feedback from visitors. Regularly review and update the system to address any issues that arise, and be open to making changes as needed.
By continuously refining the wayfinding system, facility management can ensure it remains effective in guiding users through their buildings.
Implementing Hospital Wayfinding Solutions
Hospital wayfinding is a critical aspect of creating a positive experience for patients, visitors, and staff. By understanding the needs of users, creating a consistent layout, and using clear signage, hospitals can ensure that everyone can navigate their facilities with ease. These practices not only enhance the patient experience but also contribute to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital.
It's been estimated that the average American is exposed to as many as 10,000 advertising messages each day. Many of these messages are in the forms of signs and graphics, but not all of them are intended to 'sell' to us per se. Wayfinding and directional signs are all around us and they are vital to the efficient navigation of any large physical space.
Most people likely have no awareness of the human factors engineering involved in creating a wayfinding signage system. However, anyone who has ever walked in circles in a poorly signed airport terminal, or missed the kick-off of a big game trying to find their seat, is painfully aware of its importance. The stakes become even higher as the emotional component escalates ' such as when trying to navigate a hospital during a healthcare crisis.
The Science Behind Hospital Wayfinding Signs and Graphics
A landmark research study on the topic of wayfinding was conducted by Daniel Montello of the University of California-Santa Barbara and Corina Sas of Lancaster University in the U.K. The work was titled 'Human Factors of Wayfinding in Navigation' and explored the psychology of human wayfinding in depth. As noted in the opening paragraph, the topic can be summed up as follows:
We navigate to the other side of the room, to the post office, to visit our
relatives in another town, or to vacation half way around the world. In order to navigate
effectively, we apply our psychological skills of perception, cognition, and motor behavior,
within the contexts of physical and social environments, and with the assistance of technologies
of information and transportation. There are consequently a host of human factors issues
relevant to navigation.
Sas and Montello's work is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand why certain airports are less confusing, some stadiums make it easier to find your seat, or a given hospital feels less daunting in a crisis. It's all a matter of understanding the psychology of how humans navigate a space.
Navigation requires accurate information ' but not too much
In order to navigate a physical space, the human brain requires information. There must be a goal destination that is to be reached, we must understand what is in that environment (i.e., why we want to go there), and we must know where it is located. All of this information, of course, must be accurate and up to date.
However, there is such a thing as too much information. As noted by Montello and Sas, 'It is
important that the information is sufficient but not more than sufficient. For instance,
excessively complete information can prevent us from focusing on relevant information by
distracting us with irrelevant information.' Translation: A good wayfinding signage system tells you everything you need to know but nothing you don't.
Orientation is critical
In the words of poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, 'You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been.' This perfectly sums up the concept of orientation. Montello and Sas note that efficient wayfinding requires that the 'traveler' be aware of their current location relative to their destination and to the other things (places, objects, spaces) they will encounter in getting there.
The risk of being improperly oriented is a phenomenon known as 'geographic disorientation.' You and I know it as getting lost. In most settings, getting lost results in mild frustration or inconvenience. However, in a hospital, geographic disorientation is commonly a source of anxiety. In extreme situations, it can even be life threatening.
Differentiation helps to overcome complexity
The more complex an environment, the more difficult it is to navigate. Unfortunately, few public spaces are more complex than a hospital. The sheer number of functions, specialties and levels of care in a large healthcare facility makes navigation a daunting challenge. Thankfully, the human brain offers us a way around this challenge.
Differentiation makes it easier to process a complex physical environment. Signage systems that use different sizes, shapes and colors will enable the traveler to navigate more confidently. The next time you are in a hospital, note how visual differentiation is reflected in the signs and graphics. Much like information, however, it's possible to have too much of a good thing. Differentiation to an extreme merely adds to the noise of the environment and becomes a source of distraction to the traveler.
Design and placement matter
Montello and Sas describe the role of signs and graphics in navigation and are careful to point out that signage can disorient as easily as it orients. Signs must use fonts that are clearly legible from a distance, their overall design must be clear and simple, and they must contain enough information ' but not too much. Failure to remember these bits of wisdom could make the space even harder to navigate.
Placement is equally important. Signage should be placed where the traveler requires information, such as at key decision points along the journey. The context of placement also matters. As Montello and Sas put it, 'A perfectly clear sign may be confusing if it is placed in a sea of competing visual clutter.'
Two Other Considerations for Hospital Wayfinding Signage
The Society for Experiential Graphic Design, or SEGD, is a nonprofit professional association dedicated to those who 'plan, design and build experiences that connect people to place.' In an interview with SEGD, human factors expert Virginia Grehshan noted two other things that warrant special attention when developing hospital wayfinding signage systems:
Find out what happens before the visit
As the saying goes, sometimes the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. This is often evident in hospital wayfinding challenges. Websites and packets of information provided to patients before a hospital visit do not always align with the signage systems they encounter at the facility, and vice versa.
A good hospital signage partner will seek to understand what is communicated with a patient before they ever set foot on hospital grounds. What terminology is being utilized? Which entrance are they being asked to use? Which elevator or floor is the patient being routed to? Knowing these things in advance can result in a signage system that creates a seamless navigational experience for the patient.
Pay special attention to the parking ramp
It's easy to think that the 'face' of a hospital is the smiling receptionist at the admissions desk, but it's not. It isn't even the brightly lit and beautifully designed front entrance. Most often, a hospital's first impression is made by a concrete behemoth filled with parked cars.
The signage and wayfinding challenge for a hospital generally begins with the parking ramp used by patients and their visitors. Your navigation, orientation and differentiation strategies should all start there ' as the traveler pulls their car into the ramp. By applying human factors engineering (HFE) principles to the signage at this initial point of contact, you can prevent anxiety and confusion before they occur.
Taylor Healthcare: A Leader In Hospital Signs and Graphics
All Comments ( 0 )