At the end of February 2015 a brand new £32m, state-of-the-art NHS Emergency Care Centre opened in Gateshead. The building, designed by architects Ryder has brought cutting-edge healthcare to Gateshead as well as a new way of dealing with patients during an emergency. The building not only has a unique look and feel, but it also completely changes the way patients are cared for during an emergency.

We were tasked with designing a way finding system for the Hospital. Through consultation and research we have developed a clear and comprehensive signage system with a clear alphanumeric naming system.

The new signage system provides directional cues for the three major cognitive types; visual (through sight using colour and shape), verbal (through words either in speech or writing) and logical (through reasoning and clear systems).

We identified fifteen primary, and twelve secondary signage points. In addition to these, tertiary signage was needed for every individual room, displaying room zone and number or room function.

Also to aid navigation we recommended placing maps at potential ‘dead spots’ around the site.

Zones are identified prominently by colour and letter which protrude into the corridor, visually disrupting the space and increasing recognition. A prominent directional tool is built into the structure of the signs. We used Frutiger as this was designed as a wayfinding font and is particularly legible at a distance.