• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Graphic arts can give your clinic an edge

Rehab Regs, July 13, 2005

Do your flyers make community members flock to your information sessions? Do your advertisements generate more patients than your facility can handle? Do your business cards reflect the right image to physicians and clients? If you answered no to any of the above questions, you are a perfect candidate for a crash course in graphic arts.

You don't need fancy equipment or expensive courses to use basic principles that add aesthetic value to the image your facility-and you as a professional-present on paper.

"We live in a very visual world," says Fran Babiss, PhD, OTR/L, program director of the Adult Partial Hospital at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, NY. "The way things look is the first impression [your facility] makes."

Royal Care Shadescrest, a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Jasper, AL, has published a monthly newsletter for residents, their families, community organizations, and staff members for 25 years. The publication helps the SNF involve residents as well as inform the community about the facility, says administrator Joe B. Havens, CNHA. Regular features include "Resident of the Month" and "Associate of the Month" columns, and a monthly letter from Havens.

"The newsletter lets the residents know we care for them and that while they may be disengaged from a former life, they are still engaged in the community," says Havens.

The two-color newsletter's layout evolved after the SNF held a contest to determine a design while still incorporating the corporate logo. As in other facility publications and bulletin boards, staff members try to stick with bright colors that will help lift residents' spirits.

The newsletter also acts as a recruitment piece for future volunteers. Havens already sends it to civic, community, and educational groups with which the SNF already has a relationship, but it can also serve as marketing material for new partnerships.

Each issue of Royal Care Shadescrest's newsletter must receive approval from the SNF's corporate offices before it goes to press. Your facility's requirements could vary, so check with your administrator before distributing any written material that represents your practice.

"If you have a corporate look, you have to work that into your design," says Babiss. She suggests aiming for broad appeal, with a relatively conservative and consistent design that will pass muster with corporate administrators.

Babiss, who, in addition to her occupational therapy duties is the hospital's resident graphic designer, offers the following tips to help you make the most of your written materials:

Avoid clutter. Whether you are announcing an event or writing a newsletter for your patients, too many graphics and font styles could annoy your reader, or get them to miss your message entirely.

"The most important thing is to not be too cluttered because it could make people anxious," says Babiss. "I'm a big fan of order and white space."

But there is a happy medium between artistic overload and bare-bones word processing. Use a graphic or two and a readable font that is appropriate for the event you're announcing or the subject matter you're publicizing. You wouldn't use a wedding invitation-style font for a summons to jury duty, says Babiss. Keep this in mind when you make stylistic decisions for your written documents.

Remember your audience. If you work in a SNF, you may need to use a bigger font on your flyers than if you work in an outpatient clinic, says Babiss. Always keep in mind that ease of readability is half the battle when you're trying to pass along information.

Consider proximity, space, and alignment. Your eye groups together items that are close to each other, says Babiss. Having important information aligned and enough white space to avoid overwhelming the reader are all important considerations. But there is always room for a little experimentation.

"There are rules, but they can be broken," says Babiss. "However, if something looks jumbled, people will disregard it even if it's filled with valuable information."

Get a second opinion. The best way to know whether your designs are on target is to ask another therapist in your facility. "Real graphic artists go to their peers for critiques," says Babiss. "It's best to show [your designs] to people with no graphic design experience, because [they're] your audience."

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive