The driving and walking environments
that visitors travel through on their way
to the hospital will color their attitude by
the time they arrive.
Before the patients ever reach the
hospital lobby, the designers must have
developed appropriate signage with a
clear focus on the more desirable and
intuitive clues to wayfi nding through a
well-thought-out design for circulation.
The street design leading into the
parking lot should make it a breeze to
arrive and fi nd a spot. Stripes in the
parking structure should be clear to make
wayfi nding easier. Next, the path from
the parking lot to the lobby should be at
most a 300-foot walk shorter than that
of other types of buildings because the
patients may not be feeling well.
Consider the aesthetic side of the
approach to the hospital: is it through
a back alley or a ding y garage, or is it a
Defi ning,
Refi ning Brand
Elements
Using continuity of design, branding to
enhance the patient experience
BY DENNIS KAISER
At St. Joseph's Hospital in Hamilton, Ontario, use of permanent natural materials pair
nicely with accent colors in paint and carpet.
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