CHLA
2024
A cohesive vision
for Children's Hospital
Los Angeles
How can a hospital's physical spaces be designed to actively support its mission of compassionate care and bring its brand to life for every patient, family, and staff member?
Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is renowned as a place of hope and healing. While excelling in many areas, CHLA, like other large and evolving healthcare systems, encountered a common challenge: ensuring a consistent physical presence across its extensive campus. As CHLA embarked on planned campus upgrades, its leadership saw a critical opportunity - Aligning the hospital's powerful digital brand with its physical environment could reinforce trust, ensure equitable experiences, and improve operational efficiency. Our team partnered with CHLA to develop a comprehensive set of design standards for everything from signage to interior finishes, ensuring the campus would be as clear and cohesive as its digital brand.
Our Approach:
Stakeholder Interviews
Observational Research
Design Workshops
Collaborative Stakeholder Alignment
Integrated Strategy
Research-Informed, Human-Centered Design
We approached this extensive project in two phases. The initial pre-design phase involved deep research, comprehensive analysis, and extensive questioning to truly understand CHLA's unique needs and aspirations. This thorough data gathering was a key strength for our team, allowing us to build a solid foundation for the standards. The insights gained directly informed the subsequent design phase, where we progressed the actual development of the standards.
Aligning Stakeholders for Effective Decision-Making
A significant success of this project was our ability to align stakeholders and facilitate effective decision-making. Through stakeholder interviews, observational research, and design workshops, we identified critical experience gaps. We then developed an integrated strategy that linked physical elements—like entrances, corridors, and departmental transitions—directly to CHLA’s identity and operational goals. This collaborative approach was vital in gaining buy-in and ensuring the standards would be adopted across the organization.
A Flexible Framework for Future Growth
Even while creating a comprehensive set of standards, we knew a large hospital is a dynamic environment. We built a flexible framework that's meant to be a living document, allowing for continuous refinement. This approach follows a "70% standard, 30% choice" model, giving the hospital a strong, consistent foundation while also allowing for customization based on future needs and staff feedback. Ultimately, CHLA will manage the ongoing stewardship of these guidelines, ensuring their continued effectiveness.
The Impact of Strategic Design
This partnership resulted in a robust set of design standards that will guide the CHLA campus for years to come. By aligning the hospital's physical environment with its established digital identity, this project did more than just enhance aesthetics. The new standards reduce stress for patients and families, support staff efficiency, and streamline future design efforts, ultimately reinforcing CHLA's promise of hope and healing.
Our Impact:
Empowered CHLA's future growth through a strategic design framework.
Enhanced the patient and staff experience by reducing stress while navigating and supporting efficiency.
Created a living brand standards document for ongoing evolution of renovation or development.
Streamlined operations by simplifying future design efforts, procurement, and maintenance.