When Bradford Royal Infirmary undertook a major renovation of its Accident & Emergency department and Paediatric ward, New Vision was recommended by the Trust’s Lead Nurse for Dementia. We were asked to complete the signage elements of the project following the work we did on BRI’s award winning dementia ward renovations. We were involved in two of the phases involved in the refurbishment (the Adults’: Main Reception and Paediatric Ward). The brief was to inject creativity into the project while also ensuring that the signage remained functional. While the project was primarily a signage brief, it was also felt to be important that a dementia friendly approach was adopted to make the spaces accessible to all audiences.
DLA Freeman White Ltd originally contacted New Vision to discuss signage, but soon established that between New Vision’s knowledge and DLA FW’s in-house graphic skills, the two could work together to complete an integrated signage and artwork scheme. New Vision advised on the best way to realise the designs in terms of materials and production within a tight budget. Together we came up with the ideas for the large animal shapes on the walls and the hot air balloons and sky representations in the waiting room area. These served a dual purpose: not only were they visually stimulating for users of the areas, in particular children in the paediatric ward, but they facilitated the colour coding that enhanced the directional signage; clear wayfinding being a key objective of the brief. We also produced some dementia friendly door signage and assisted in the design of the directional signage.
Sophie Bailey-Stevenson, the lead architect, spoke of working with us on this project. “A new wayfinding strategy was adopted for the redesign, where functional and dementia friendly signage was incorporated into the overall artwork design to create a fresh and colourful environment for staff and patients. The children’s experience was enhanced in the Paediatric Ward by incorporating the principles established in the Main Reception but with a more playful and child-friendly approach to wayfinding, allowing the two areas to be clear, coordinated and consistent throughout.”
Project architect: DLA Freeman White Ltd Main Contractor: Whitaker and Leach
