Interior Design And Graphics In Hospitals: Part-III

G D Kunders

A corporate logo is a component of a brand identity. The shape, colour, typeface, etc of a company’s logo should be distinctly different from the logos of other organisations in a similar market. The most effective logos should be recognisable instantly and evoke some sort of emotional response. “Logos and other organisational symbols are like a kind of flypaper to which associations get stuck,” said one expert.

The work of legendary designer Paul Rand – considered the father of corporate identity – has been seminal in launching this field. All the same, he said it is the organisation that ‘makes’ the logo. “A designer ‘designs’ the logo. But the organisation ‘makes’ the logo,” he said, signifying the organisation’s philosophy that goes into it. Logo gurus feel that logos should have four important attributes: (a) Recognisable, yet unusual (b) Simple, yet rich (c) Contemporary, yet timeless, and (d) Memorable, yet appropriate.

Some of the most recognised symbols in the world are Apple Computer’s apple with a bite out of it, Motorola’s stylised M enclosed in a circle, Coca Cola’ script associated with its colour red, Pepsi’s with its colour blue, and automobile brands Chevrolet’s bow tie and Rolls Royce’s interlocking “RR”. BMW’s white propeller blade against the blue sky reflects the origins of BMW as a maker of military aircraft engines during the First World War. Each of them distinctly stands for a brand and clearly differentiates the product line.

Among other special signs that have become global symbols are the logos of Nike and Adidas. The story goes that Phil Knight hired a young graphic design student, Carolyn Davidson, to do a logo for Nike, the small company he had just started, that would suggest movement and would at the same time be as recognizable as Adidas’s “three stripes”. He paid her $35 for her work. And she did – the Swoosh – with outstanding success. When the brand became one of the most well known marks, he rewarded her with a gold swoosh ring embedded with a diamond, a certificate and Nike stocks that made her rich instantly.

Hospital logo should clearly communicate the hospital’s philosophy – what it stands for – as well as its name. Bombay Hospital’s logo, for instance, is the adaptation of Mahatma Gandhi’s famous lines on “Customer”. “A customer (patient) is the most important person in any business (the hospital) . . . . etc.” (For the full text, see author’s How to Market Your Hospital without Selling Your Philosophy.) Logos should not only evoke a quick emotional response, they should also create a trust in the hospital. Most hospitals want to promote quality, care and caring among other things. For instance, the logo for Florida Hospital: “The skill to heal, the spirit to care” and Hanover Hospital’s “Hanover Caring for People, Caring for You.”

A Mother and Child Hospital’s logo is imprinted on a T-shirt that the hospital gives to all mothers-to-be who come to the antenatal clinic. It says: “When I go into labour, take me to Mercy Hospital.” The hospital gives a baby T-shirt to every baby born in the hospital that proudly says: “Special Delivery. I was born at Mercy Hospital” or “I am a Mercy Hospital Baby.” A hospital whose emergency department enjoys a high professional and market profile gives to every patient on discharge a stuffed teddy bear, bunny or panda to take home and strategically place it by their telephone. On it is the logo of the hospital and the words: “We are at your service 24 hours. Please call us: Emergency: 305 772 6000 St. Martin’s Hospital.”

Nearer to home, logos of Jaslok Hospital, Apollo Hospital and Escorts Heart Hospital may be rated among the best.

Graphic design and the logo should be thought through early in the design stage. This will enable the graphic designer to participate in the total concept. Too often, hospitals make the grievous mistake of putting off this important work to a later time, and realise that at the time the graphics and the logo are needed, it is too late to develop them.

Use of Decorative Colours

Colours have a definite influence on the mental and emotional state of patients. This fact should be kept uppermost in mind when deciding on colours to be used in the decoration of various parts of the hospital. Everyone has personal preferences for some colours, but when it comes to the selection of colours for the hospital, whoever is responsible for the selection should be willing to subordinate his personal preferences to what is good for patients, visitors and personnel.

The question that should be asked is what is the effect of any colour on patients, visitors and employees? The red colour, for example, is a highly stimulating and exciting colour – the degree of stimulation is dependent on its hue and intensity. Pink that is a delicate tint of red is pleasant, enlivening and refreshing. Blue on the contrary is calming and subduing; may even be depressing. In keeping with this, the interior design in the coronary and intensive care units, especially the former where patients are alert, should be so planned as to avoid over-stimulation or depressing effect from certain colours and lighting. In the psychiatric ward, the light, paint and decor should be thoughtfully chosen to provide a desirable therapeutic effect as these things can easily affect the mood and attitude of psychiatric patients.

Inpatients spend 24 hours of the day in their rooms. For them hospital is their temporary home. Since tastes differ and what one patient likes another may not, muted pastels are recommended. The colours that should be avoided in patient rooms are bright blues, soft purples, lavender tones, bright yellows or strong, definite colours of any kind. On the other hand, melon green, dusty rose, rose tone, aqua, pecan gray and honey yellow have been used with a great deal of success.

Designers have successfully experimented in decorating two walls of patient rooms in one colour and the other two in a complementary colour. Or the wall at the head end of the bed has one colour and the other three walls are decorated in a solid colour to match the wall at the back of the bed. This they say creates interest and is immediately noticed by visitors.

Since the patient in the lying position sees more of the ceiling than any other place in the room, it is advisable that the ceiling is done in the same colour as the walls.

The colour(s) used for corridor walls should reflect light and create cheerfulness. Honey yellow, the colour of sunshine, is recommended. When a corridor crosses a corridor, they say, painting their walls in complementary colours adds interest.

Operating rooms, labour and delivery suites and workrooms should be done in colours that would be restful to the eyes. A colour that has been proved to be the ideal is gray-green. Behind-the-scene areas where work is drudgery should have brighter and more cheerful colours which will improve employee morale. A judicious use of colour and a festive atmosphere in the cafeteria will lift the morale of nurses and helpers who work with sick people in a sickroom atmosphere all the time. Nurseries should be decorated in pink or blue, or a combination of these two. Pink and blue are the traditional colours for infants.

A word about choosing curtains to go with the colour or colours of the rooms. Expert advice is to purchase curtains first and then select wall colours to harmonize with them. It is more difficult to find curtains to harmonize with colors of the walls that have already been painted.

The colours mentioned here should be taken as suggestions that have been tried successfully in many hospitals, but then there may be equally or better colours that are conducive to the well being of patients. It is for the architect and the interior designer to try them.

Source: Author’s Designing for Total Quality in Health Care
The author is a healthcare facilities planner. E-mail: gdk@vsnl.net