A set of 56 graphic symbols introduced today by SEGD and Hablamos Juntos will make hospitals and other healthcare facilities easier to navigate, particularly for underserved populations and patients with limited English or reading proficiency.
Universal Symbols in Health Care are the result of a two-year, multi-faceted research effort led by Hablamos Juntos and SEGD. The research team included a consortium of four university design schools, experts in wayfinding, symbols development, legibility, and testing, as well as design firms specializing in health care wayfinding.

The symbols were being implemented in new signage programs at four Innovator Health Care Facilities that partnered with Hablamos Juntos and SEGD on the research and testing: Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, R.I.; International Community Health Services, Seattle; Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo.; and Grady Health System, Atlanta.

The research – the second phase of an effort that began in 2004 – is part of Hablamos Juntos’ mission to develop practical tools to overcome language barriers to health care. Recognizing that navigating through a hospital or health care facility can be a confusing, stressful experience if signage and wayfinding systems are not easy to understand, the project sought to develop symbols that would ease navigation at a range of facilities, from large, multi-building complexes to simpler, single-clinic settings.
A set of 56 graphic symbols introduced today by SEGD and Hablamos Juntos will make hospitals and other healthcare facilities easier to navigate, particularly for underserved populations and patients with limited English or reading proficiency.

Universal Symbols in Health Care are the result of a two-year, multi-faceted research effort led by Hablamos Juntos and SEGD. The research team included a consortium of four university design schools, experts in wayfinding, symbols development, legibility, and testing, as well as design firms specializing in health care wayfinding.

The symbols were being implemented in new signage programs at four Innovator Health Care Facilities that partnered with Hablamos Juntos and SEGD on the research and testing: Women & Infants Hospital, Providence, R.I.; International Community Health Services, Seattle; Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Mo.; and Grady Health System, Atlanta.

The research – the second phase of an effort that began in 2004 – is part of Hablamos Juntos’ mission to develop practical tools to overcome language barriers to health care. Recognizing that navigating through a hospital or health care facility can be a confusing, stressful experience if signage and wayfinding systems are not easy to understand, the project sought to develop symbols that would ease navigation at a range of facilities, from large, multi-building complexes to simpler, single-clinic settings.

Get the symbols for free here: http://www.hablamosjuntos.org/signage/symbols/default.using_symbols.asp