What the hospital bought
Twelve 55-inch portrait screens at corridor junctions, running a directory that listed departments alphabetically. The hardware was fine. The screens were bright, clean, and ignored.
What we watched
Over two days we counted how many people looked at a screen for more than two seconds. About 9 percent. Most walked past and asked a person. When we asked patients why, the answer was consistent: the screen did not tell them where they were.
The three content rules we changed
- You are here, first. The top third of the screen became a map with a red dot and the current floor. Without orientation, a directory is a list of words.
- Nine destinations, not ninety. The most common nine destinations got large tiles. Everything else moved to a second screen. Nine is about the number a walking person can scan.
- Time, not distance. 'Radiology — 4 minutes' instead of 'Radiology — Level 2, Block C'. People plan in minutes.
The hardware changes that followed
The screens were mounted at 1.6 metres to the centre, which is eye height for a standing adult, but the corridor had wheelchairs, children, and people looking down at a phone. We lowered the centre to 1.35 metres and increased the type size by 30 percent. Both together doubled the glance rate.
What we did not change
Brightness. It was already correct for a corridor with 300 lux ambient. The instinct to make signage brighter usually produces glare on a polished floor, which makes it harder to read, not easier.
The measurement that convinced the board
After the change, the reception desk logged 41 percent fewer directional questions in the following month. That number, not a design opinion, is what got the second phase approved.
One thing to plan for
Content updates. A hospital changes departments and clinic hours constantly. If updating the directory needs an IT ticket, it will be out of date within a month. Specify a content management path that a facilities coordinator can use without calling IT.