April 2014 – San Jacopo Hospital in Pistoia and S. Stefano Hospital in Prato

Letters, colors, and QR codes: When orientation becomes child’s play. A few simple rules often help achieve the objective. Two examples of projects where color, combined with concise and highly legible lettering, plays a crucial role in orientation within complex structures such as hospitals.

USL 3 in Pistoia and USL 4 in Prato have chosen IKON Segnali for the new hospitals of San Jacopo and San Stefano, respectively. The ‘Way-finding’ projects are characterized by strong contrasting color elements (blue with magenta red, green with orange) that identify visitor routes, marked by the alphabet letters ‘A’ and ‘B’.

But there is also an interesting novelty to note: the use of QR codes in the main orientation signs, as signage also has a communicative and educational purpose towards citizens. Information about the activities and services available in the hospital is stored in the QR code and can be read via a mobile phone or smartphone.