"Another sign is not the answer—it dilutes the message." - Corinn Soro

Today on the pod, Cheryl sits down—virtually—with Senior Planner and Interior Designer Corinn Soro of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY for a deep dive into wayfinding that actually works: why "visual pollution" erodes attention, how de-crapification clarifies intent, and where evidence-based choices can transform the patient journey from disorientation to ease.

Expect real examples—subway-style maps that set expectations at a glance, pictograms that land when words won't, and donor walls designed to evolve rather than date out—plus the small, cumulative tweaks that lower stress for visitors and staff alike.

Today's conversation is about design as reassurance, translating research into decisions that cut through noise and hand back control the moment someone walks through the door.

What We Cover

• A 17-year-old's spark: geriatric care, neuroplasticity, and the built environment

• London roots: learning research methods alongside OTs and PTs; universal design for all bodies

• Evidence-Based Design in action: NICU decisions (sound, circadian light, infection control) backed by research

• "Visual pollution" vs. visual cues: the case for ruthless editing ("de-crapification") before adding signs

• Wayfinding that works under stress: step-by-step instructions, few decision points, and reassurance cues

• Designing for low literacy: a color-and-letter "subway" system, line-of-travel markers, and proximity intuition

• Pictograms that actually communicate: testing, swapping out abstractions, and kid-friendly icons

• Measuring ROI: missed appointments, staff disruptions, and the real cost of poor wayfinding

• In-house rhythm at a research hospital: tight feedback loops, quick iterations, and process fixes

• Donor walls that age well: digital storytelling, magnetic plaques, and durable substrates

• Advocacy and pipeline: AMFP Upstate NY, craft labor realities, and manufacturing shifts ahead

• Big wish list: self-cleaning floors (for hospitals…and home)

• Why post-occupancy evaluations could prevent future design disasters (and why they rarely happen)

Key Takeaways

• Edit before you add. Wayfinding succeeds when clutter is removed and destinations are made legible through architecture, lighting, and contrast—not just more signs.

• Design for the stressed brain. Fewer decision points + stepwise reassurance beat complex directions every time.

• Evidence accelerates approvals. EBD turns subjective taste debates into science-backed decisions leadership can green-light.

• Symbols > sentences. Tested pictograms improve comprehension across languages, ages, and literacy levels.

• Iterate in the wild. Being embedded with clinicians and patients surfaces quick wins you'll never catch from afar.

Memorable Quotes from Corinn Soro

• "Another sign isn't the answer—it dilutes the message."

• "Wayfinding is about giving choice back to patients when so much else is out of their control."

• "If a space is 'too quiet' for the engineer, it's probably just right for the neonates."

• "Healthcare design is a team sport."

Resources & Links

• Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center — https://www.roswellpark.org/

• AMFP Upstate New York Chapter — https://amfp.org/upstate-new-york

• Fiona Finer, the Interior Designer (ages 3–8) — https://www.amazon.com/Fiona-Finer-Interior-Designer-Corinn/dp/1720664889

• EDAC Certification (Evidence-Based Design) — https://www.healthdesign.org/certification-outreach/edac

• Hablamos Juntos pictograms — https://www.theicod.org/resources/news-archive/segd-and-hablamos-juntos-introduce-new-universal-symbols-in-health-care

• Sisters of Charity Hospital (Buffalo, NY) — NICU project mentioned — https://www.chsbuffalo.org/sisters-of-charity-hospital/

• Past HID2.0 episode featuring Tama Duffy Day — Episode 20 https://healthcareidpodcast.libsyn.com/2019/09

Connect with Corinn Soro

• Email: [email protected]

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corinn-soro-14859ab/

Our Industry Partners

The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org.

Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners:

• The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers

• The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design

Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/.

Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/

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The world is changing quickly. The Center for Health Design is committed to providing the healthcare design and senior living design industries with the latest research, best practices and innovations. The Center can help you solve today's biggest healthcare challenges and make a difference in care, safety, medical outcomes, and the bottom line. Find out more at healthdesign.org.

Additional support for this podcast comes from our industry partners:

• The American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers

• The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design

Learn more about how to become a Certified Healthcare Interior Designer® by visiting the American Academy of Healthcare Interior Designers at: https://aahid.org/.

Connect to a community interested in supporting clinician involvement in design and construction of the built environment by visiting The Nursing Institute for Healthcare Design at https://www.nursingihd.com/

FEATURED PRODUCT

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Let's unpack this, did you know that hundreds of preeminent members of The American Institute of Architects – The AIA – have signed the AIA Materials Pledge? The Pledge is aligned with the Mindful Materials Common Materials Framework – the CMF. This is just one, very impressive example of how the movement to support decision making for building product selection has reached new highs. We can see these explained as 5 pillars of sustainability:

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• (And the fifth pillar) is The Circular Economy: Promoting a zero-waste future through design for resilience, adaptability, and reuse.

I mentioned the receipts -How do we track the progress of these principles and values? Without measurement, there's no clear path to improvement or accountability.

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A cornerstone of material health transparency is an Environmental Product Declaration EPD report. The best are independently verified for accuracy by third party certification bodies – a company cannot mark their own report cards. EPDs are highly technical documents containing scientific information on the embodied carbon used to manufacture products. I have just read and included here an EPD for a Porcelanosa Tile – there are upwards of 1000 data inputs to quantify its climate impact.

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To learn more about how Porcelanosa help their customers design for resiliency, here is a link to their comprehensive Corporate Social Responsibility Report: https://www.porcelanosa.com/en/corporate-social-responsibility/