Hospital Wayfinding Signage Outdoors Case Study

Visitors to hospitals are often doing so under stress because they are visiting a sick friend or relative, or because they themselves are sick. This makes hospital wayfinding an ever-important subject in these locations.

The need to guide visitors (and staff) in a manner that is as stress-free as possible, if needed. In this post, we look at hospital wayfinding signage and Visitor Experience Management (VEM) in more detail.

Hospital Navigation

For this post, there is so much to talk about just from the outdoor areas alone, that I will focus on those and the issues which we will look at below, are perhaps indicative of the problems people have in navigating the inside of buildings.

Sometimes the very best ways to teach about wayfinding, navigation, and signage is to use real-life examples and to sometimes learn from mistakes (and also of course from that which works well).

Hospital Signage Examples

From the first image below, you can immediately begin to see the problems.

Two signs are both pointing in opposite directions and both claiming to be directing you to the main entrance.

Furthermore, one of the signs is almost at ground height.

Even when considering the height of signage for wheelchair users, such a sign is way too low. Conformity between the design of signs?

To make things worse, a sign that is broken in many places is something that simply should never be missed if a proper plan for signage checks and repairs is managed (as explained in the post I recently did on wayfinding strategies).

I have to be completely honest and admit that I genuinely have no idea what the sign on the grass below means and why it is positioned at the height it is.

Common Hospital Signage Issues

The above sign is a great example of signage that one could argue is overpopulated and very difficult to read, and perhaps unrealistic to read.

Signage is not the place for detailing terms and conditions or footnotes.

1. Font size

The hospital signage above is incredibly difficult to read (as a sign) and is a sign that one would assume very few ever fully read.

The small print is information that really should be placed next on with the parking payment meter where one gets the pay and display ticket.

The small print information simply should NOT exist on this particular sign.

2. Unrelated Information

There is also conflict on the signage n terms of information in that the text ‘This is a SmokeFree Site’ is unrelated to the parking and these two messages (pieces of information) should not be combined.

3. Inconsistency of Language Use

The sign above is suddenly only in English (except for the term ‘smokefree’) when the rest of the signs in the grounds are in English and Welsh (as expected by the Welsh government).

The big problem with the lack of conformity of signage is confusion with users and a defragmented system and problematic, as exists in the hospital.

With such a lack of conformity in the grounds, one begins to see how finding wards inside the hospital can become really confusing.

Take a quick look at all of the photos on this page and can you see any standardization or any level of conformity between signs?

4. Inconsistent Design

From the signs directly above and then the signs directly below, an example of yet more different signage designs, use of colour schemes, and a real lack of conformity.

I love the new signage below, and perhaps these are a signal of a wayfinding system in the planning at the hospital. I’ll keep you posted.

And below, another differently designed piece of signage. In terms of design, one might suggest that the two different languages should be in different colours on the signage below.

This would enable the reader to immediately zone in on their choice of Welsh or English.

This is, in fact, a problem with most signage in Wales, in that no colour differentiation is given on signs and this makes it very hard to read a lot of signs at any speed.

Using a different colour code according to language is a very simple and practical idea, but yet to be implemented.

As you can see above, one more colour scheme which once again takes us further away from any conformity, and the languages are not divided by colour.

‘You are here’ maps can be invaluable, and the representation in 3D quite jazzy and very easy on the eye.

Any of you who read the last post I did on wayfinding strategy basics will perhaps remember the focus given on documenting signage.

The idea is to ensure that you have a database or spreadsheet if pragmatic to do so) to have a definite list of all signage, placement, date last checked, condition, what the sign says, and the sign type, and to also include any other pertinent information.

This database should then be checked monthly, i.e., someone should do the job of visiting each sign and checking the condition, to see, for example, if it needs to be repaired or cleaned.

Signage that is not maintained can become a hindrance.

The sign above is still usable, but it does become harder to read as the sign deteriorates, and could be replaced and updated to a standardised style.

The signage above is all on the grounds of the hospital. Inside the hospital, it is often very difficult indeed to find your way around, from my own experience and from talking with other users.

My own experience was of getting sent to five different places on one visit, with departments moving and staff not knowing where to send me.

Ideas and the Way Forward: Improving Hospital Wayfinding Signage

It is far too easy to find fault with wayfinding systems, and of course, far more complex to create a good strategy.

It is therefore not my intention at all to criticise the navigational system in the grounds of the University Hospital of Wales.

This hospital just happens to be close by and gives us a great case study for showing a sample of the typical problems that can exist.

So, to end on a constructive note, I would like to mention some ways forward i.e. some solutions for this hospital and locations suffering from similar issues.

1. Create a Signage Database

A Database should be created to document all the hospital signage and signs and to include all of the data mentioned in the previous chapter.

2. Create a Signage Family

The signage needs to be brought under one umbrella, and conformity built into any signs that are permitted to be put up in the hospital grounds.

3. Maintenance and Regular Checks

Old signage needs to be replaced, and any new signage could be added to the same design.

4. Correctly Positioned Parking Information

Vital parking information should be directly next to the pay meters. This will improve the overall hospital wayfinding system you have in place.

5. Colour Coded Walking Routes

Although we have not covered inside the hospital, the example of many Spanish hospitals should be copied, and a small printout of the hospital map, with a red line showing exactly where to go, should be provided to visitors where they need one.

Such a system has existed in Barcelona for more than 6 years, and such a system also aids any non-Welsh or English speakers in very easily navigating to the wards they need.