 Hablamos Juntos Universal Symbols in Healthcare Sponsored by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Led by Hablamos Juntos with SEGD and JRC Design This web site is meant to provide health care executives, designers, and facilities managers with a resource on universal health care symbols and how they can be integrated into wayfinding systems and management strategies. The site contains resources on the symbols, information on best practices for health care wayfinding, case studies on specific programs, and educational programs and publications about health care wayfinding.  This program's origins began with Lance Wyman's design for the Mexico City subway symbols. In the 1970s and again in 2000, Yolanda Partida, Director of the National Program Office for Hablamos Juntos, visited Mexico City and saw how Lance's cultural icons had prevailed over nearly 30 years, growing with the subway system. Inspired, Yolanda wondered whether well-designed universal symbols could be used in healthcare environments to reach people with Limited English Proficiency. Hablamos Juntos released an RFQ and commissioned JRC Design to prepare a white paper on the feasibility of using symbols for health care wayfinding, including recommendations for next steps. The conclusion of the white paper was not only that symbols were a viable option for wayfinding in health care, but that a set of tested symbols, publicly available, would give designers and health facilities a much-needed alternative. With a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Hablamos Juntos partnered with SEGD and JRC Design to create and test a starter set of symbols for health care wayfinding. (Visit www.hablamosjuntos.org for a full description of the organization's mission and a description of the role of the grantees.)The design process was led by JRC Design; the design team included Jack Biesek, Biesek Design; Gladys Brenner, AB Design, Inc.; Margaret Faye, FayeWorks Design, LLC; Jamie Cowgill and Jim Bolek, JRC Design; Kate Keating, Kate Keating Associates, Inc.; and Todd Pierce, Pictogram. Wendy Olmstead directed symbols testing. The Hablamos Juntos National Program Office coordinated three rounds of symbols surveys administered in Hablamos Juntos demonstration sites in ten states around the country. Once completed, the symbols were field tested in a variety of healthcare environments in a program led by SEGD and with the assistance of the Penn State Transportation Institute and a technical advisory team that included Lance Wyman, Roger Whitehouse, and David Gibson. The resulting report and Best Practices Workbook is available on this web site. Hablamos Juntos is leading an outreach and dissemination program with SEGD and JRC Design, which will be documented at www.hablamosjuntos.org and on this web site. If you would like more information about working with Limited English Proficient users in health care facilities and the complete design process behind the symbols and products in the Hablamos Juntos project, visit www.hablamosjuntos.org, the main web site for project updates, announcements, resources, and documentation. If you would like more information on technical issues related to symbols and wayfinding in health care facilities, email segd@segd.org.
This Workbook would not be possible without these organizations, professionals and contributors. Overall Project Underwriters and Administrators The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Hablamos Juntos National Program Office Universal Symbols Design and Testing Managing Design Firm JRC Design, Jamie Cowgill, Jim Bolek Project Team Jack Biesek, Biesek Design; Gladys Brenner, AB Design, Inc.; Meg Faye, FayeWorks Design, LLC; Jamie Cowgill, Jim Bolek, JRC Design; Kate Keating, Kate Keating Associates, Inc.; Todd Pierce, Pictogram Symbols Testing Consultant Wendy T. Olmstead, Ivy Tech Community College Symbols Wayfinding Testing Technical Advisory Committee Craig Berger, SEGD; John Bosio, Hillier; Dan Clements, Karlsberger Companies; Ken Ethridge AIA RIBA, iZone; David Gibson, Two Twelve Associates; Lance Wyman, Lance Wyman Ltd; Roger Whitehouse RIBA FSEGD, Whitehouse & Company Wayfinding Test Design Phil Garvey; Penn State Visual Communications Research Institute; Craig Berger, SEGD Pilot Testing Sites Somerville Hospital, Somerville, Massachusetts; Saint Francis Medical Center, Grand Island, Nebraska; Grady Memorial Hospital, Atlanta, Georgia; Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco Medical Center, San Francisco, California Manufacturers and Fabricators of Test Signs Alcan Composites USA Inc; APCO; Poblocki Sign Company; Design Communications, Inc. Workbook Writer and Editor Craig Berger; SEGD Layout JRC Design
All reports are meant to be viewed on Adobe Acrobat version 6. Hablamos Juntos Symbols Summary Developed to provide a summary of the symbols program and a basic description of the 28 symbols. Hablamos White Page Provides a summary of the Hablamos Juntos Project and Testing Program. Symbols Poster Contains all 28 symbols developed in the program, their referents, and definitions. Symbol Usage In Health Care Settings for People with Limited English Proficiency This three-part document, led by JRC Design with Hablamos Juntos and SEGD, documents the Universal Symbols Design Process
Executive Summary If you would like more information on technical issues related to symbols and wayfinding in health care facilities, email segd@segd.org. Hablamos
Juntos Best Practices Workbook and Resources CD Order Form
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