Good wayfinding: a missing public health link

My team and I recently attended the Australian Health Design Conference (AHDC) in Melbourne. 

As always, the conference was well-attended. There were a wide range of speakers including architects, researchers, healthcare planners and project managers. An equally broad array of topics were covered, all in some way were related to health planning and design. 

While I’ve attended plenty of these health-focused conferences over the years, without fail I’ll have someone ask me a seemingly simple question: “Why are you here?”

My instinct to this is to respond with a short answer: “Good wayfinding is vital to public health!” But maybe I should provide a bit more context. 

Who counts as a public health collaborator?

This year’s conference theme was ‘Designing for health; There is no magic bullet’. 

Following this thought, the presenters focused on how collaboration, codesign and prioritising patient experience are the key ingredients to designing fit-for-purpose systems and spaces in the healthcare sector. 

In my potentially biassed opinion, I moderated some of the most engaging and thought-provoking sessions at the conference. I teased out this thinking from our colleagues from CPB Contractors and Billard Leece Partnership via a presentation about the great work and collaborative design featured in the freshly unveiled Campbelltown Hospital. 

I also moderated a session between WARREN AND MAHONEY and HDR about their experiences and cultural integration at the new Dunedin Hospital. 

It’s also probably worth mentioning that ID-LAB did the wayfinding strategy and design for both of these projects. But I digress. 

Lots of key learnings emerged from the presentations. Attendees including architects, researchers, healthcare directors and sector leads all reached similar conclusions. Working across industries and sectors needs to be holistic. It also needs to be inclusive, human-centred and not forget about the sector’s impact on the planet in the process. 

So, how do these findings relate to the place of wayfinding in the sector? Let me count the ways we can – and do – turn these learnings into practical outcomes that improve health outcomes, from reductions in stress to essential accessibility improvements.

Wayfinding plays a crucial role in public health

We may not be architects (well, some of us are), or healthcare professionals, or directors of major facilities in the sector. We are strategists and designers working to make the built environment human-centred. 

When our approach is followed and thinking incorporated, we notice the difference in the project deliverables when it comes to the public health outcomes many at this and numerous other conferences are striving for. 

Effective wayfinding uplifts instead of negatively impacts

Well-designed wayfinding systems help people navigate spaces with greater ease. When less time is spent worrying about where to go, we see associated reductions in stress and anxiety associated with getting lost or feeling disorientated. 

In these shared healthcare settings, efficient wayfinding is crucial for patients, visitors and healthcare professionals alike. 

By minimising the negative emotions associated with often stressful environments, such as hospitals, we can turn attention more to building resilience of those working in the sector, and those having to navigate its other complexities. We help remove the unnecessary stresses, so time and effort can be spent on positive impacts – building management solidarity, better training and information, and more mental health support. 

Inclusive design starts with proactively asking the right question

Public health is becoming less of a one-way information dissemination system and more a circular conversation.  

As wayfinders, our work is fundamentally human-centred: we design systems that promote individual safety, distribute necessary information, and promote positive interactions with the built environment. But to do this, we need to know from the people using it what they need. This means participation from design to implementation. 

Co-design is more than asking carefully constructed questions we think we know the answer to. Designing for inclusivity requires a proactive approach. We integrate this thinking into our briefings wherever possible, from those we interview to experts on our design team. 

Holistic decision-making demands a Universal Design approach 

Conference attendees consistently spoke about sustainability in this space. Environmental sustainability regarding net zero was definitely a key factor, but I’m also talking about a deeper level of sustainability. 

For us, sustainability is about creating systems that can grow as a space does. It means creating solutions that are flexible, malleable and adaptable to handle whatever change may come. From what I can see, it means embracing the fundamentals of Universal Design as necessary to create a healthcare sector that is accessible, safe and user-friendly for all. 

With all these changes ahead, I think it may be the last time I get asked why I’m at a healthcare conference. It seems that our way of thinking about the built environment is in vogue, maybe for the very first time.