What’s in a name?

The importance of consistency in healthcare branding

Not long ago I found it necessary to go to a hospital that had been recently re-branded. While looking for my department, I happened to overhear a conversation an elderly woman was having with one of the hospital employees.

The woman was confused and wanted to know if she was in the right place. The hospital had multiple locations, and because of the rebranding, a lot of the signs that she saw in the hospital were different. Some signs still had the old logo, some had the new logo but the previous name and some just had the previous name and no logo.

The employee did a wonderful job explaining the re-branding to the woman and assuring her that she was in the right place despite the confusion of the signage not being consistent. The problem was that the employee had to take the time to explain why the signs were wrong.

To me, as a designer, this was an example of how consistent branding is necessary in a healthcare setting, not only for usability and peace of mind for the patient, but for the sanity and productivity of the employees.