Healthcare facilities can be stressful environments that require clear, concise wayfinding to make spaces easier to understand and navigate quickly, minimizing stress and anxiety. To determine the potential benefits of a new wayfinding approach for all City of Hope facilities, Altitude worked closely with the client to conduct research and design a pilot wayfinding program that is simultaneously functional and gives peace of mind to patients and caregivers.
Early research illuminated the fact that the previous wayfinding system tried to accomplish too much, cluttered with an overload of information and with symbols that were not understandable to a broad audience. “Confusing” was common feedback in pre-design patient surveys. To clarify a new wayfinding logic, Altitude created a color-coded system that highlights three major pathways and facilitates the journey to City of Hope’s primary outpatient destinations. Highly visible, eye-level signage is installed at key decision points along each pathway. And throughout the signage system—consisting of directional signage, wall graphics, and destination identification—information is kept to only what’s needed at the moment.