Research Highlights: Almost 1 in 5 adults with congenital heart disease living in Israel had or developed an abnormal heart rhythm over five years. Adults with congenital heart disease who developed an irregular heart rhythm in the heart’s upper...

Research Highlights: Middle-aged Black women with better heart health were less likely to show a decline in mental function compared with middle-aged Black women with worse heart health. In this study, heart health was unrelated to cognitive decline...

Research Highlights: When adults became angry after remembering past experiences, the function of cells lining the blood vessels was negatively impaired, which may restrict blood flow. Previous research has found that this may increase the risk of...

Statement Highlights: Palliative medication management focuses on providing relief from symptoms and enhancing quality of life for people with cardiovascular disease throughout the various stages of the disease. Decisions about initiating, adjusting...

Research Highlights: In an analysis of 18 randomized clinical trials, people with obesity and high blood pressure who underwent bariatric (weight-loss) surgery were almost three times more likely to achieve blood pressure remission, defined as...

Research Highlights: Favorable cardiovascular health in early pregnancy, as measured by the American Heart Association's Life's Essential 8 (LE8) cardiovascular health score, was linked to lower risk of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, ...

DALLAS, September 9, 2024 — While stroke is the fifth-leading overall cause of death in the United States, it disproportionately impacts Hispanic people. It is the third leading cause of death among Hispanic women and the fourth leading cause of death ...

DALLAS, Sept. 25, 2024 — The American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, is joining with other top cardiovascular research funders around...

Fine Art Print – Bicycle and Orange Wall The photograph, which looks more like a watercolor painting, was taken at the entrance of Square of King Frederiksberg's Castle grounds in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Many layers were used to bring in the tones and textures, some detailed, others lost, to create the final version shown below.  See the original article about techniques used Painterly Effect with Photo Enhancement

DALLAS, Jan. 24, 2024 — In an effort to identify effective food is medicine approaches for incorporating healthy food into health care delivery, the American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary organization focused on heart and brain health...

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 20, 2024 — The U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee today is considering the Cardiomyopathy Health Education, Awareness, Research and Training in Schools (HEARTS) Act, which would help ensure students ...

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 9, 2024 — Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced final revisions to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) food packages. Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Association, the world’s leading...

I have always enjoyed photographing objects, be they man made or natural, that have very distinctive lines, shapes, and patterns.  Recently, while in the Palouse, I had the opportunity to solidify this idea and make some photographs very focused on geometric shapes.  There are several that I took that I like quite a bit.  Perhaps […]

Advisory Highlights: Women continue to be underrepresented in research for cardiovascular disease (CVD), leading to gaps in knowledge and understanding of how CVD impacts women. Some risk factors for heart disease are specific to women, such as risks ...

DALLAS, January 3, 2023 —While playing in the Buffalo Bills - Cincinnati Bengals game on Monday Night Football on January 2, Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest after a hit and was administered CPR on the field before being transferred to...

This Mother’s Day and beyond, as cardiologists we care for the fate of all women. The death of a woman during pregnancy, at delivery, or soon after childbirth is an immeasurable tragedy for her family as well as society at large. Urgent action is ...

DALLAS, Nov. 1, 2023 — Action by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prohibit the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars would save lives and improve health in communities long targeted by the tobacco industry, according to renowned...

DALLAS, 9 de octubre de 2024. En un momento en el que la hipertensión no controlada está aumentando en los Estados Unidos, la  American Heart Association y la American Medical Association (AMA) reconocen a nivel nacional a 1812 organizaciones de cuidados...

Research Highlights: The socioeconomic status of first-time moms in early pregnancy may affect their cardiovascular health up to seven years later. Socioeconomic status — education level, income level, health insurance status and health literacy — of ...

Research Highlights: A study of older adults in Australia and the U.S. indicates that cholesterol levels that fluctuate significantly from year to year without a change in medication may someday help to identify those with a higher risk of developing ...

In this tutorial I'll show you how to create a dark and emotional fallen angel scene using a variety of photo manipulation techniques. You'll work with blending techniques, adjusting colour, practice retouching, painting and more.

Show the way

Airport signage design is not a easy task and creating a wayfinding system in a airport which will have to guide thousands of visitors takes a in-dept case study of the visual environment, travellers stream, detailed prints of the building and much more. In this photo showcase I’ve collected images of Airport Signage from cities all over the world, using the photo website flickr.

Airport Signage Design

When designing signage for a Airport or a other public building you have to take a good notice of the visual surroundings the signage will be placed in. The backgound colors of walls and windows, the amount daylight let in the building, the lighting and more environmental elements are important when designing signage for a aiport.

In a visual crowed environment it is important that signage design stands out to its background, for a maximum effect. Use a color system with not to many variations and be consistant with the color usage. Think about using illumnated signs to enhanche the readability of the signage and always use mockups of the signs to test if the signage is working in the visual surroundings.

Color, typography design and use of pictograms

Design high contrast signs to ensure good readability and legibilty of the signage. Colors that work well are a dark background with a light colored text and pictograms. For example a black background with white illuminated lettering will ensure a high contrast which has a good readability from a distance. Other commen color combinations are a yellow background with black lettering.

For typography use a sans type like FF Info by Erik Spiekermann or Frutiger by Adrian Frutiger. Use a font that have a high x-height which will increase the legibility of the signs. Use only one font in all visual communication levels of the airport signage. For international airports it is vital to use symbols to indicate the facilities in and around the airport, always strengthen the symbol with written text in the native language and perforably in English language. This will ensure that most of the visitors can read the signs.

Arrow design

Arrows are one of the most important design features of a wayfinding system for airports, with a pointing arrow you will be able to guide visitors to their destination. Choosing a arrow within a design can make or break the design, don’t over due the arrow but gently incorporate the arrow into the sign in balance with type. Recently I’ve released a arrow collection to use in a design.

Sign design using a grid

Always use a grid to design signage & wayfinding systems in order to maintain balance and flexibility in the design. In a future article I will go in dept by explaining how to design signage using a grid.

Inspiration: Personal favourites

Below you will find a showcase of my personal 5 favourite airport signage designs. High contrast illuminated signs, using clear lettering.

There are several books about signage systems and environmental graphic design available. Andreas Uebele wrote the book Signage systems & Information graphics and this is one of the best and most extensive books about signage available

Signage systems & Information Graphics

The 336 counting pages book has a hard cover and is 28,5 x 24 cm. The pages read well and quickly you can find what you are looking for by the index. The text layout and choose of typography fits well and reads great, designed in a grid way (similar to how signage is designed).

Andreas Uebele is a well known designer with the design identity agency in Germany “Büro Uebele”. They have managed to design many signage & information graphics projects in the last years, from airports, offices, library and more. The author describes the following elements of signage design:

• Signage design, typography and how to choose a typeface
• Production, planning and sign management
• Projects from sign designs from all over the world
• Extensive drawings and photos from sign projects

Typography & Signage

A key factor in signage design & information graphics is the choose of typography, with the choose of typeface you are able to make or break a design and its functionality. In the book is explained how to choose a typeface and what characteristics a certain typeface needs to have in order to be used in signage systems.

Uebele mentions different typefaces that they used in projects and explains the differences between the mentioned typefaces. A good introduction into choosing a typeface for signage & information graphics. Further on in the introduction the book goes deeper into designing for signage and which methods to use in order to achieve an effective signage & wayfinding system. With various examples and drawings you quickly read how and what to design.

Sign Design

The book explains how to use proper color systems and how to place them into a environment to create a good working signage system. The author explains why they have chosen the color combination, typography and size of the airport signage project described in the book.

A great insight in learning more about signage design. Further on there are more projects described and explained with extensive photo material and the actual production drawings. By the drawings you can get a good view of how the signage systems are designed and produced.

Signage projects from other designers

In the book are also described many other projects from different designers and design agencies than Buro Uebele, for instance Schiphol designed by Bureau Mijksenaar. There are various images and concept drawings aswel as the detailed information about typography, color use and more. By adding more information from other designers makes this book a must have reference guide into graphic design and signage systems. You get a clear insight of signage projects which control people in various fields of visual communication and showing them the way.

This article is a show case of the relationship between architecture and graphic design. In fact, surprisingly few architects use typographical elements in their design. For this overview of projects that do make good use of lettering, I’ve probably browsed through more than thousand Architectural Designs. Below you’ll find ten buildings on integrated architectural lettering and signage

I can only guess about the reason why architects make so little use of typhographical elements on their buildings. The main reason will be that the building design doesn’t need it. Most buildings can make their function clear without the use of signage on the façade. As you will find on the buildings listed below, architects used the signage to show the name of the building to the world; there is no building to be found with its function printed on it. The function is supposed to be clear.

A famous architect once stated: ‘form follows function’. That’s why you know what the particular function of a building is. Architects follow their mantra.

This is a guest post by Frank van Leersum, a Dutch student architecture who likes to write about architecture and books. Visit his Dutch weblog Aureon.

• Where are you?
• Where are you heading?

The human mind observes and stores the journey as a mind-map. Distances, locations and time may be remembered differently than as they appear to be in reality. Signs, landmarks and directions are interpreted as signals and helps to guide along the way.

We use our personal knowledge, look at inference for common patterns and use previous experiences to find destinations. This article explores a history of navigation and view a on the general understanding of ways in which we all tend to navigate in terra incognita.

Early wayfinding polynesian navigators

Between 500 - 700 BC explorers began sailing the sea and started their travels towards finding new land. Sea is not as big as a barrier if you know where you are heading to and able to find your way back… Interesting enough early sea explorers didn't have maps, compasses, clocks or sextents to navigate. The new land was yet to discover and no information on how to get there, or return home, was available.

The discovery of the Polynesian islands by, from origin, Asian inhabitants tells a story on how they found those islands in the middle of the South Pacific. Voyages would take up to months and they sailed over 2000 km to discover new land, but how did they navigate? And how can we learn from their knowledge in the ancient way of getting around?

The Polynesians traveled over vast expanses of open ocean across the Pacific. In order to locate directions they memorized at various times of day and year the important facts of their surroundings. The traditional Polynesian navigation methods included memorizing the motion of stars; rise and set of the sun on the horizon; the direction, size and speed of ocean waves; gathering of clouds that cluster at specific locations; direction of winds and the following of wildlife of the ocean such as birds and fish.

Understanding how these explorers used their senses and ways of memorizing their surroundings can help us understanding how to design effective wayfinding systems today and tomorrow.

The traditional navigation by the Polynesian is also called non-instrument navigation — which means finding your way without the usage of modern tools. Instead, looking at the characteristic patterns in the surroundings they could build a mental map and used that to navigate. Those 'fingerprints' on the open ocean could well be referenced as todays 'landmarks'. History describes how the navigators kept a mental log of their journey, maintaining a sense of distance from where they started along their way. The structure that the navigators used in ancient history is similar as we apply in wayfinding strategy today.

• Planning, what is the strategy?
• Setting the course, which way to go?
• Holding the course, how far we need to travel?
• Finding land, are we there yet?
• Returning home, which way to head back?

Although the traditional Polynesian ways to navigate is almost extinct. The wayfinders of Polynesia traveled over one fifth of the surface of the planet and largest culture sphere in human history.

Navigation is not about you, or your mind, or what you can do. It's not about the sun and stars. It's really about everything. Shortly Bertelman, navigator

Holistic approach to wayfinding

Important steps in developing a wayfinding strategy is to look beyond a specific environment, space or building. Wayfinding doesn't start or stop at specific places. A wayfinding system comprises communications that may involve multiple media to help people navigate an environment. This emphasizes the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts, also referred as the Holistic Approach.

The Holistic Approach defines a wayfinding process that is researched and analyzed for the needs of the user. The objectives may include virtual and physical communication tools such as websites, signs, information systems, organizational goals, increasing customer satisfaction, placemaking or media support. Overall goal of the Holistic Approach includes to provide a better user-experience. Taking time to research the objectives will ensure the resulting wayfinding system goals are managed for optimal results. The boundaries between the abstract digital world and the real physical world starts to blur and the way that we experience wayfinding is starting to change.

Key takeaway

Wayfinding could well be put into a wider objective, today we live in a global economy and as a result we should re-think how we communicate. Wayfinding can act as stepping stone to connect people, movement and places efficiently. Taking wayfinding beyond 'signs with arrows' and an integrated communication system will emerge.

The concept is relative simple — show the right message at the right time. Make use of integrated communication systems to allow the user to have seamless journeys and engaging discoveries.

References

• Dragons, Memory & Navigating the Globe Using Only Your Wits Link

Why people get lost

Navigating through hospitals can be a challenging task and stressful experience for patients, visitors, and even staff. With the increasing complexity of hospital layouts and diverse user needs, there is a growing demand for effective and accessible wayfinding solutions.

Misinformation and not up-to-date information are among the most common issues why people get lost. The lack of quality information across platforms allows for disorientation, a feeling of getting lost, and not knowing which source to trust. Some of the issues include:

• Getting lost, high stress levels
• Not on time for an appointment
• Unable to orientate/navigate
• Information not correct/up-to-date
• No holistic wayfinding approach

Costs of Getting Lost

Wayfinding issues lead to significant costs due to staff time spent on assisting lost individuals, delays in patient care, and missed appointments.

A Deloitte report showed that medical staff spends on average 4,500 hours in giving directions every year. That is a considerable amount of time wasted just on giving directions.

Lost patients and visitors disrupt hospital schedules and workflows, leading to inefficiencies and increased workload.

Navigational difficulties heighten stress and dissatisfaction among patients. Efficient wayfinding is crucial for patient safety, especially in emergency situations.

Three Main Reasons Why People Get Lost in Hospitals

1. Complex Hospital Layouts: Hospitals often have intricate, sometimes maze-like structures with long corridors which look similar and multiple wings, making navigation challenging for patients, visitors, and even staff.

2. Inadequate Signage and Wayfinding Systems: Traditional signage and wayfinding tools are frequently insufficient, leading to confusion and difficulty in locating destinations within the hospital.

3. Lack of Pre-Visit Information and Real-Time Guidance: The absence of effective pre-visit directions and real-time navigational assistance exacerbates the confusion, especially for first-time visitors.

Assessment of the Costs of Getting Lost in Hospitals

• Financial Impact: Wayfinding issues can cost hospitals significantly, with studies showing expenses up to $500,000 annually at due to staff assisting lost individuals and other related inefficiencies. Missed appointments due to navigational difficulties add to this burden, with the NHS losing almost £1 billion annually.

• Operational and Staff Impact: Staff spend substantial time assisting lost patients, leading to lost productivity and increased workload. This can result in staff burnout and compromised patient care.

• Patient Experience and Safety: Patients experiencing stress and confusion due to poor navigation can have longer hospital stays and increased health risks.

In summary, inefficient hospital wayfinding systems lead to significant financial costs, operational challenges, and negative impacts on patient experience and safety.

Case for wayfinding

Wayfinding is a multidisciplinary design profession, combining cognitive behavior, information design, and user experience. It enhances the process of finding your way to a destination in a familiar or unfamiliar setting by using cues from the environment.

The goal of wayfinding is to create a unique and seamless journey by showing the right information at the right time. A comprehensive and bespoke wayfinding system where patients and visitors can orientate, navigate, and locate destinations in a building or environment.

Holistic wayfinding approach

A holistic wayfinding approach that reduces stress and costs while creating a seamless journey experience in hospitals should include:

• Integrated Digital and Physical Signage: Combining clear, large physical signs with digital solutions (like interactive maps and mobile apps) ensures accessibility and real-time guidance for all users​​​​.
• Personalized Navigation Assistance: Utilizing technology such as QR codes, WiFi triangulation, or beacons for real-time, personalized navigation can cater to individual needs and reduce the likelihood of getting lost​​​​.
• Pre-visit and On-site Information: Providing detailed pre-visit directions and on-site information desks or volunteers can help orient visitors upon arrival and throughout their visit, addressing wayfinding issues effectively​​.

This approach combines technology, human assistance, and clear physical markers to create an environment where patients and visitors can navigate hospital spaces more confidently and efficiently.

Design for today and plan for the Future

Our vision for Wayfinding is an integrated information platform that creates an on-demand and personalized user experience. Our approach seeks to improve people’s understanding of the built environment by implementing identity, urban design, and wayfinding strategies.

Key takeaways

• People first — User-centered information tools
• Integrated — Holistic design approach
• Vision and research — Solving wayfinding problems
• From the place for the place — A unique experience
• Seamless — Extendable and flexible
• Digital — Personalized experiences
• Build design resources — Ensure legacy
• Invest once and wisely — High quality delivers a ROI

Every day, our work helps thousands of people navigate hospitals. We are experts in placemaking and wayfinding.

Weather Photographer, Winner: Sprites Dancing in the Dark Night by Wang Xin The Royal Meteorological Society has announced the 2024 winners of the Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year Awards, featuring breathtaking images of weather phenomena worldwide. The top prize went to Wang Xin from Shanghai for the photograph “Sprites Dancing in the Dark […]

Grand Prize: “Bengal Tigers” by Mangesh Ratnakar Desai, India The 2024 Nature’s Best Photography International Awards highlighted breathtaking moments from around the globe, celebrating photographers who captured the beauty and power of Earth’s diverse ecosystems. From sweeping landscapes to intimate wildlife portraits, the award-winning images showcase nature’s grandeur and fragility, inspiring deeper appreciation and awareness […]

There is a huge variety of free and premium web design tools and resources to choose from to help you create stunning websites. They range from complete website design platforms to design frameworks and wireframing tools to plugins featuring “must have” functionalities. And, a whole lot of things in between. These design tools and resources […]

The post The Best 13 Tools & Resources for Designers and Agencies for 2023 appeared first on WebAppers.

It’s 2024 and the number of web design resources and tools on the market seems overwhelming. That’s good news since you need the right tools and resources to come up with competitive designs. The bad news is, rather than sifting through thousands of products to get the ones that best meet your needs you might […]

The post 15 Great Tools & Resources for Designers & Agencies in 2024 appeared first on WebAppers.

Thanks to generative AI, content creation has become one of the most important trends in today’s world, with a completely new approach. It is revolutionizing the creative field in many different ways, from advertising to marketing to automated newspapers and magazines. Users of this technology must note its opportunities and problems. This blog discusses generative...

The post The Impact of Generative AI on Content Creation appeared first on noupe.

Any kind of marketing approach that gives you a deeper insight into your customers has the potential to help you make stronger connections with them. Psychographic segmentation is a perfect example. Unlike demographic or behavioral segmentation, it goes into depth about what makes your customers tick, which means you can better understand how to reach...

The post What Is Psychographic Segmentation and How Can It Boost Engagement? appeared first on noupe.

There are a lot of Twitter widgets for WordPress but in my experience none of those utilize the powerful SimplePie PHP class that is in the WordPress core. SimplePie is a powerful RSS reader class that has very nice built-in caching system since as we all know the Twitter API is limited to only 150 […]

In the second part of this tutorial we will extend the widget with more options. Let’s start by defining what sort of options we want it to have. Show timestamps Discover Hyperlinks Discover @replies Discover avatar Followers count You can download the extended plug-in here. Step 1: Getting the form ready for the new options […]

In this tutorial we will create a simple Flicker widget using the Flicker API and the WordPress widget API. The widget can be used multiple times and it will require your Flicker ID and the number of images to display. If we search for something like this we can find a tons of premade widgets, […]

Are you prepared with the financial risk management strategies that can keep your business steady […]

Ever found yourself stuck with an extra blank page in your Word document and wondering […]

Whether you’re a brand-new startup or a small business trying to scale, you will need nerves of steel when you are dealing with a laundry list of concerns that are not always straightforward to solve. The best solutions are sometimes a bit unorthodox, which, of course, makes them ideal for those who not only want […]

The post Overcoming the Biggest Challenges Facing Growing Businesses appeared first on Designer Daily: graphic and web design blog.

In today’s competitive landscape, businesses are constantly seeking innovative ways to stand out and attract new customers. While traditional marketing strategies have their place, one of the most potent tools at your disposal is often overlooked: customer referrals. When satisfied clients share their positive experiences with friends, family, and colleagues, they not only validate your […]

The post 5 Easy Ideas To Get More Referrals From Your Customers appeared first on Designer Daily: graphic and web design blog.

So, you’ve got your business website up and running, but it feels like it’s missing a little something. Maybe the speed isn’t quite there, or you need more features to really enhance user experience.  Sounds familiar? Don’t worry—plugins can help with that. Plugins are like the extra tools you didn’t know you needed. They boost […]

The post Top 8 Must-Have Plugins to Supercharge Your Business Website appeared first on Designer Daily: graphic and web design blog.

Do you need some new fonts? Of course you do! I’ve just picked up this new fonts bundle at 90% off, reducing the $304 price to just $29 for all 17 typefaces. This is a great opportunity to upgrade your own font library with a range of new typefaces that you can call upon in […]

The post Just snagged this ‘Fontastic’ Fonts Bundle at 90% off! appeared first on Spoon Graphics.

In one of my recent tutorials I showed how to create a Grainy Xerox Grunge Effect in Photoshop, named after its similarity to old photocopied images. Download this FREE Smart PSD to easily recreate the effect with your own images by replacing the contents of the Smart Object. The artwork is given a high-contrast appearance […]

The post Free Xerox Grunge Smart PSD appeared first on Spoon Graphics.

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View and Vote

A study involving more than 1,500 found that an earlier return to school benefited children ages 8 to 18, who had less severe symptoms two weeks after their concussion compared with kids who stayed home longer.

Female athletes are more susceptible to sport-related concussions (SRCs) and experience worse outcomes compared with male athletes. Although numerous studies on SRC have compared the outcomes of concussions in male and female athletes after injury, research pertaining to why female athletes have worse outcomes is limited.