How to Sign Corridors & Hallways
A guide to corridor and hallway signage that creates effective wayfinding routes, reduces disorientation, and supports independent navigation for residents.
Corridors and hallways are the connective tissue of any care home. They link bedrooms to bathrooms, lounges to dining rooms, and private spaces to communal areas. For residents living with dementia, navigating these transitional spaces can be the most challenging part of daily life. Long, uniform corridors with identical doors and minimal visual differentiation are particularly disorientating. The Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) considers corridor wayfinding one of the most critical areas for environmental improvement in dementia care settings.
The Challenge of Corridor Navigation#
The fundamental problem with most care home corridors is sameness. When every wall is the same colour, every door is the same design, and every stretch of corridor looks identical, there are no distinctive landmarks for a person with cognitive impairment to anchor their mental map. This uniformity creates what dementia researchers call 'environmental ambiguity', a state where the surroundings provide no useful orientation information. Effective corridor signage breaks this ambiguity by introducing clear, consistent wayfinding cues at every decision point.
Key elements of effective corridor signage:
- Directional signs at every corridor junction indicating routes to key destinations such as toilets, dining room, and lounge
- Consistent arrow design and colour coding throughout the building
- Room identification signs on every door, including store rooms and staff areas
- Floor or wing identification signs at lift lobbies and stairwells
- Memory boxes or personal displays outside bedroom doors to create individual landmarks
- Contrasting colour schemes for different corridors or wings to aid orientation
Pro Tip
Create distinctive landmarks along corridors by varying wall colours between wings or floors, displaying themed artwork at corridor junctions, or placing recognisable objects at key turning points. A grandfather clock at one junction and a bookcase at another provides memorable orientation cues that work alongside formal signage. These landmarks should remain in fixed positions to build reliable cognitive maps over time.
Directional Signage Design#
Directional signs in corridors must communicate quickly and clearly. A resident in a corridor is typically in motion, so the sign must be readable at a glance from several metres away. Use large, bold arrows combined with simple text and iconic imagery. For example, a sign pointing left with the word 'Toilet' and a toilet icon is far more effective than a small text-only sign listing multiple destinations. Each directional sign should focus on one or two key destinations to avoid information overload.
Recommended Products
Our corridor and directional signs are designed for maximum visibility at a distance. Manufactured from 5mm solid white acrylic with textured 3D print, they feature bold arrows and iconic imagery that can be read from several metres away. DSDC-accredited with a 1A rating, these signs are available in high-contrast colour combinations that stand out against any wall colour.
Reducing Corridor Anxiety#
Long corridors can provoke anxiety in residents living with dementia, particularly if they cannot see their destination from their starting point. Breaking long corridors into shorter visual segments using changes in wall colour, artwork, or seating areas can make the journey feel less overwhelming. Signage plays a crucial role in this strategy by providing reassurance at regular intervals. A resident walking down a corridor who sees a sign confirming they are heading towards the dining room is less likely to become anxious and turn back.
Audit checklist
Walk every corridor in your care home as if you were a new resident with cognitive impairment. At every junction, ask yourself: can I see where the toilet is? Can I find my way back to my room? Can I locate the dining room? If the answer to any of these questions is no, additional signage is needed at that point.
Corridor signage should be audited at least twice a year, checking that all signs are clean, undamaged, securely fixed, and accurately reflecting the current room layout. Any changes to room usage, such as converting a lounge into an activity room, must be reflected immediately in both door signage and directional signs throughout the building. Outdated signage is worse than no signage at all, as it actively misleads residents and increases disorientation.
Related Articles
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How to Sign Lift Lobbies & Stairwells
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