Evidence based signage and orientation prompts

As designers, we’re committed to making the world a better place. We’re always looking for ways in which we can use our skills and experience to improve peoples’ everyday experiences and make a positive impact. We also think about the impact our work will have on how people feel. 

In the knowledge that the ageing population is fast becoming one of the biggest challenges facing society, we sensed an opportunity to help empower older people and those with dementia. So, in 2014 we tapped into Scotland’s academic expertise to research and inform a new direction in dementia friendly way finding products – a fresh and beneficial approach to developing evidence based signage and orientation prompts that would increase independence and wellbeing for older people and people living with dementia. 

With our partners at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Stirling, we embarked on an audit of the existing signage in dementia care environments. This established that much of what’s out there is aesthetically unsophisticated and feels clinical – reinforcing an unwelcoming and institutional atmosphere within care settings. If people are to feel at home in a care environment, the care environment has to feel like home.