Frustration & Inefficiency

Click on an example case study below to find out how poor wayfinding design can lead to client, patient, customer and employee frustration and inefficiency:

1.) “Excuse me. Could you help me find the _______?

2.) Many times, wayfinding defaults to facility employees.

3.) When people cannot find their way, frustration and stress result.

4.) Wayfinding – beyond sign design

Frustration Example 1

“Excuse me. Could you help me find the_______?”

Every day, health care workers hear countless ways to fill in that blank from people who are lost in their facility.

Picture…

… a 75-year old man arriving on your campus to visit his brother in intensive care.

Ask yourself… How easy is it for this visitor to choose the right
• Parking structure?

• Building?

• Entrance?

• Elevator?
What if his eyesight is poor? If he has difficulty reading for other reasons? If English is not his first language?
If he chooses incorrectly, how far might he wander before discovering he has made a mistake?
Is your staff prepared to assist him if he asks for directions?
What if he is extremely disoriented?
Does your staff provide verbal directions when telephone callers request patient room numbers?
If so, do these directions match experience?

Example #2
Many times, wayfinding defaults to facility employees.

Frustration Example 2

Many times, wayfinding defaults to facility employees.

Employees make the most expensive wayfinding system in any facility. And, depending on the employee delivering the wayfinding information, the quality of their response could vary considerably for the visitor.
Picture…
…a young woman driving up to your hospital with her grandmother, who appears to be having a heart attack. The granddaughter wants to find the Emergency department as quickly as possible.
Ask yourself…
• How easy is it to find the hospital from surrounding streets?
• How easy is it to identify the Emergency entrance?
• Can the granddaughter leave her car at the Emergency entrance while she accompanies her grandmother into the hospital?
• If not, must the grandmother enter the Emergency department alone?
• How far away must the granddaughter park?
• How easy will it be to find the Emergency Department when the granddaughter returns to the hospital after parking the car?

Example #3
Wayfinding — Beyond Sign Design

Frustration Example 3

Wayfinding — Beyond sign design.

Wayfinding should be transparent to the visitor. It is most successful when it integrates a facility’s policies, procedures, brand, image, architecture and signage. To that end, the wayfinding expert’s value is maximized when he or she is part of the initial planning, design and/or renovation team for any facility.
Picture…
…an eight-year-old on crutches and her/his parent coming to your hospital fro appointment with Radiology and Physical Therapy.
Ask yourself…
• Where must they park in relation to their appointments?
• How far from their parking stall will this parent/child team find a wheelchair?
• How easily will they find the correct entrance? The elevators?
• Is a directory of departments posted outside the elevators? Inside?
• Are Radiology and Physical Therapy located near one another?
• Did these visitors receive any directions in advance to guide them to their appointments? If so, do the directions they received match actual experience?
• All together, how far did the eight-year-old on crutches travel for these two appointments?

Example #4
When people cannot find their way, frustration and stress result.

Frustration Example 4

When people cannot find their way,
frustration and stress result.

Wayfinding is the art and science of helping people find their way through an environment. It is a fundamental part of every visitor’s experience. In the world of healthcare especially, wayfinding can be a critical element in patient care and satisfaction.
Picture…
…the husband of a 54-year-old woman undergoing a series of diagnostic tests. They expect to be at the hospital for a number of hours. He heads to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and a pastry.
Ask yourself…
• How easy is it to find the cafeteria from your diagnostic testing centers?
• Is hallway signage clear?
• Are visitors shown which direction to go upon exiting the elevator?
• Is your cafeteria visitor-friendly?
• How easy is it to find the diagnostic testing centers from the cafeteria?
• Is a directory of departments posted outside the elevators? Inside?
• If he turns down the wrong corridor or chooses the wrong elevator, how far might he wander before discovering he has made a mistake?
• Is your staff prepared to assist him if he asks for directions?
• How far has he traveled, round trip?

Close Example #4