Directory Signs, how effective are they?

Hospital, what are you thinking?

Here are some tips:

1) Remove the map.

A map is meant to compensate for a spatial knowledge deficit, and more specifically a survey knowledge deficit. You do not want to force your patients into such a cognitively demanding process. In addition, there is research indicating that the efficacy of map use in multi-storey buildings is very limited. If you absolutely insist on including one, then at least align the map with the viewing direction.

2) Do not create artificial building sections

Do not create artificial building sections when the hospital is in fact one continuous structure. People, especially those unfamiliar with the site, will not know how to distinguish between sections if everything is physically connected. Only use this approach when the buildings are physically separate.

3) Listing floor numbers is irrelevant.

See point 1. And besides, nobody cares which floor they need to be on or where they currently are. Floor references only matter when you constantly need to reorient yourself, which is something you want to avoid as it is cognitively demanding. If they continiously need to orient themselves using a highly flawed mental map, something is wrong with the wayfinding system.

In addition, many hospitals have floor numbering that is confusing to interpret. For example, Entrance A might lead you to floor 3, while Entrance B takes you to floor 1. Or you might go from Building A, floor 1, to Building B, floor 5 via a horizontal connector.

So, this is all far too much information. It is unnecessary and provides no real benefit.

Bonus tips:

1) (Alpha)numeric coding of locations is indeed crucial, especially in large hospitals.

The location number is often the only thing that matters for quickly linking a medical service to its toponym.

And, even this is often not needed, since it should already be included in the appointment notification by email, text message, app, or letter. Such a board should only serve as a fallback for patients who might have none of that information with them. Besides, many people find medical terms difficult or intimidating. Someone may know they have stomach pain but might not realise they need to see a nephrologist, endocrinologist, or gastroenterologist.

2) A directory sign like this might be useful…

A directory sign like this might be useful for referring to inpatient units if placed at all entrances, but even then it is in my opinion a limited tool.

In short…

At least 80-90 percent of the information can be removed immediately. If these directory signs were removed entirely, I would not expect any negative impact on the overall wayfinding performance of the system.

And fun observation: in tons of hospitals I saw these directory signs, and overall I have perhaps seen a handful of people in all those years standing in front of these boards. Which raises the question: how much are we actually effectively using all these signs, and how they positively contribute to the wayfinding performance and experience?