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At the start of my wayfinding career I audited wayfinding systems at 19 UK hospital sites. I got lost and worked out why. I documented 1000s of signs ,maps, leaflets and appointment letters. I coordinated patient and staff surveys, and analysing the data to produce evidence-based findings on hospital wayfinding. Over the next year, between design projects, I co-wrote and illustrated a book called 'Wayfinding: Guidance for Healthcare Facilities' with David Lewis, co-owner of

LAST MONTH I COLLECTED NEW DATA at a large UK hospital and reached an eye-watering estimate of £8.4 million for staff time spent helping people find their way around the site. An online staff survey with 100 responses from clinical and non-clinical staff is a just the start. Even if this is an over-estimation, the cost is likely to be unexpectedly high! Here’s how I got to this figure: AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF TIME…AND COST • 86% of staff help someone find their way every

Article written by Dr Colette Jeffrey, former Associate Professor of Wayfinding at Birmingham City University, now a Hospital Wayfinding Consultant at Copper Jetty. Successfully finding your way in an unfamiliar hospital is challenging for most people even with clear wayfinding signs. Giving consistent, legible information that uses simple language and standard symbols is important, but your patients and visitors may still lose their way. Our ability to process information on