Archive for November, 2009
By Michel Verheem
We have just completed a survey for one of the Melbourne councils; they had some urban wayfinding signage installed and wanted to know what people though about it.
The signage was meant to make the locals understand their own neighbourhood better and to encourage them to walk more.
We interviewed 177 people in a shopping street – standing only 4-5 meters away from one of the signs, but only 18% of the respondents mentioned the signage when asked what changes to that area they had noticed.
Even more interesting is that only 20% of the people that had noticed the sign(s) had actually given it a closer look. The most heard comment was along the lines of ‘Why would I, I am from this area’ or ‘I come here all the time’.
There seemed to be little incentive for ‘locals’ to even just check out what is on the signs. We believe that this could be because the design of the signs does not show ‘We may display something that you don’t know you don’t know’.
We think that small design changes could make a difference in how people see the sign, and with that, how they will react. An example of such a possible change would be the addition of the text ‘Did you know that……”.
Now this council is reaching less than 4% of the overall audience – something that could have been avoided by having the design outcomes tested BEFORE implementation. Hooray for evidence based design!
Source: Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust
ID/Lab’s research for the Auburn Hospital in 2008 showed the confusion that can occur when using ‘medical or process jargon’ on signage. At first glance the results of the terminology testing provide few surprises:
Terms such as Podiatry (10%) were not understood nearly as well as Foot Clinic (42%). The lowest scores given for Allied Health (0%) and Ambulatory (0%). Both these terms are meaningless to patients and visitors, regardless of their proficiency in the English language.
The study involved users from the top five most common languages spoken by the hospitals users, representing 75% of the hospitals CALD (Cultural and Linguistic Diversity) users.
As Rob Waller on his Simpleton blog points out: Wayfinding projects are not just about showing people the way – they are often about making the way easier to show. Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital last year renamed many of their buildings to provide a set of names that makes more sense for patients. For example, people used to have trouble finding New Guy’s House, because it was not particularly new. This means that they’ve had to change not only signs and maps, but appointment letters too.
Department names are also changing:
- ‘Paediatrics’ = ‘Children’s services’
- ‘Ophthalmology’ = ‘Eye department’.
- ‘Renal unit’ = ‘Kidney unit’
- ‘Surgical appliances’ = ‘Patient appliances’.
Hurray for simplification!
Source: Jonny Holland Magazine
Most of us have probably at some stage been to a new city, gotten lost, but coincidentally stumbled across something beautiful because of it.
With the help of technology this might become something of the past. More and more people prefer ‘Knowing’ versus ‘Discovering’.
For us the question is how we can provide an environment and wayshowing information that allows some getting lost and some to know it all. And what do you do when technology fails, eg runs out of batteries?
2009
Source: Health Facilities Management, photos by A Denmarsh
As we have found when developing the wayfinding strategy for Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, kids require a very different environment from adults – especially when it comes to navigation. Children’s cognitive mapping capabilities are not yet developed and they see and remember the environment quite different. As an example, where adults can use their cognitive map to picture the route in their head, and ‘cut corners’ on the way back, children need to return using the exact same route they have used before. Landmarks are therefore even more important for projects where children are navigating.
These images from the Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, USA show how to create an environment that is memorable to kids and at the same time make them feel more comfortable in a hospital environment.
Clearly marked help areas, like this reception/greeter desk, were designed to ensure hospital staff are clearly visible to visitors.
Graphics like this butterfly motif in the outpatient lobby appear throughout the hospital to help the transition from an unbalanced state to a balanced one.
The hospital’s four-story atrium provides a gathering place for families and patients. It features a two-story projection screen and access to a rooftop garden.
Source: Creative review blog
The organizers of the 2012 London Games recently unveiled the 38 Olympic pictograms designed by Someone (www.someoneinlondon.com). There are two formats for each pictogram – a ’silhouette’ and a ‘dynamic’ version. The ‘dynamic’ format of the pictograms will be used on merchandise, signs and tickets, helping spectators find their way to their sport of choice when the olympics begin in three years. This more colorful rendition -inspired by the London underground map- ‘brings the representations to life’.
As always, the pictograms have stirred-up many reactions, both positive and negative. We believe that they will work in the environment they are being used in – so all there is to discuss now is ‘do I like it?’
