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REGENCY SPECIALIST
HOSPITAL Johor Bharu Client:
Sign Lab / HMI Group |
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BRIEF
Regency Specialist Hospital was initially a 218-bed private hospital located minutes away from the Singapore-Woodlands checkpoint & Johor Bahru city center. The hospital was expanded via a 9-storey extension block, increasing its capacity to 380 beds (with the capacity to further increase to 500), having additional clinical services, operating theatres, medical suites & related ancillary facilities. FW’s task was to study & propose a comprehensive wayfinding solution for patients, visitors & staff to navigate seamlessly across both existing & new blocks, where different services are located. Our involvement was limited to wayfinding analysis & proposal only & did not involve any signage or EGD design works, as the project owner believed that their internal team would be able to undertake the task. |
CHALLENGE(s)
While we were not tasked with design works, our wayfinding study still had to, at the very minimum, take into consideration mounting structures, more so for the upgrading / updating / retro-fitting of signage & other related treatments at the existing block. Coordination & interfacing between the main contractor, other consultants & various stakeholders given last minutes changes to the project structure, extreme budget limitations beyond the pale vs expected outcomes, were also among the challenges faced. SOLUTION Being designers ourselves, we worked on making the wayfinding study, specifically the location marking plans & the detailed message schedules, to be as clear as possible for any 3rd-party design team to come in & attempt to translate said content into effective design solutions. |
SOLUTION (cont.)
However, it needs to be said that while any 3rd-party may attempt to come in & come up with designs based on the given messaging content & mounting permutations, whether said designs will be effective is another matter altogether. Engagement distance study to determine text size for legibility, color scheme to ensure visual clarity while in the same breath, be supportive of the client’s brand identity, type of material & finishing that is suitable for a clinical / sterile environment of a hospital, content flow & messaging hierarchy, are just but a few factors that need to be given thoughtful consideration, which only experienced & specialized wayfinding designers are able to produce. |