Beacon Children’s Hospital, Memorial Hospital South Bend

As designers, sometimes we must see the world through a child’s eyes. For the Beacon Children’s Hospital, Knot Studio’s environmental graphic designers found new ways to create a soothing, less stressful experience for children of all ages. Working closely with ZGF Architects on the 100,000-square-foot children’s hospital addition, Knot Studio’s themed graphics program weaves wayfinding with placemaking to create an intuitive and immersive environment. Each care unit is themed by color, regional geography, and a selected relevant critter.

The programs are introduced with large placemaking murals at unit entries, with color and critter icons carried through as wayfinding cues right down to the room entry sign. The children’s hospital serves families from 15 counties, including Pediatrics, Pediatric Intensive Care, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, and Neonatal Intensive Care Units.