When people think about navigating a sprawling hospital campus, signage usually comes to mind first — color‑coded lines on the floor, overhead placards or digital directories near the entrance. But as healthcare design continues to evolve, many industry leaders are realizing that the most intuitive wayfinding tool isn’t a sign at all. It’s the light itself.
We sat down with a healthcare illumination expert to discuss why lighting design is shifting from a basic code compliance requirement to a meaningful contributor to the patient experience — and how it can help reduce one of the most common sources of stress in healthcare environments: getting lost.
Meet Tommy
Illuminating Insights
Featuring: Tommy Nichols, LC, EDAC
Business Development Director for Healthcare at Acuity Brands
Why Lighting is the Most Underutilized Wayfinding Tool in Healthcare
Q: If a hospital administrator is reading this, what’s the single takeaway you want them to understand?
Tommy Nichols, LC, EDAC is the Business Development Director for Healthcare under Acuity Brands Lighting specializing in behavioral health, healthcare, and pathogen reduction solutions. Tommy has grown into his role as an 11-year professional in the lighting industry, serving on the IES Healthcare Facilities Lighting Committee. His areas of expertise include behavioral health lighting, the needs of healthcare specialty spaces, pathogen reduction solutions to make people feel safer, and a dedication to developing solutions to expedite patient healing. Tommy earned his Evidence-Based Design Accreditation and Certification through the Center for Health Design.
At the core of it is the patient’s state of mind. When someone walks into a hospital, it’s rarely under favorable circumstances. They’re often anxious, stressed and already mentally overloaded. Research consistently shows that navigating a large, unfamiliar healthcare environment is a major contributor to patient, visitor and family member anxiety. If someone struggles to find the radiology department, their stress level could be elevated before their appointment even begins.
There’s also a very real operational impact. Poor wayfinding costs hospitals time and money. Staff are frequently pulled away from clinical duties to give directions, and patients arriving late can disrupt carefully coordinated schedules. Wayfinding can’t be treated as an afterthought — something addressed with signs once construction is complete. It needs to be part of the architectural conversation from day one. That’s where lighting becomes especially powerful.
Q: Let’s start with the basics. Why is wayfinding such a critical issue in healthcare design right now?
Q: How does lighting function as a wayfinding tool? Isn’t that the role of signage?
Signage requires a more conscious effort. You have to stop, read, interpret and then decide what to do next. Lighting works differently. It provides a more intuitive, almost subconscious level experience and helps create a visual hierarchy.
People are inherently drawn to light. In a healthcare setting, we can use changes in light level, color temperature and visual emphasis to define different zones without a single word. For example, a primary clinical corridor might use cooler, brighter light, around 4000K, to support alertness and staff effectiveness. When that corridor transitions towards a patient waiting area or family lounge, the lighting can soften and turn to a warmer state, around 3000K. Without reading a sign, people instinctively understand that one space is meant for movement, while the other is meant for processing.
Linear lighting can also be used to reinforce primary circulation paths. The appearance of a continuous line of light can quite literally guide the eye toward key destinations such as elevator lobbies, reception areas or nursing stations.
Biophilic design — the idea of connecting the built environment to nature — may be one of the most effective strategies for reducing stress in healthcare settings. Natural daylight is the strongest biophilic element available.
Whenever available, main circulation routes should be anchored to daylight. A corridor that ends at a window gives people a sense of orientation and destination. Of course, many hospital spaces are deep within the building and can’t always rely on access to natural light. That’s where modern tunable LED systems can come into play.
With these systems, artificial lighting can be programmed to follow the natural progression of daylight — cooler and brighter in the morning, warmer and lower in the evening. This supports circadian rhythms for both patients and staff while also providing a subtle connection to the outside world. Studies show that these cues can reduce anxiety and improve overall patient satisfaction, even when people aren’t consciously aware of them.
Q: You mentioned the psychological impact of lighting. How does biophilic design factor into wayfinding?
Lighting should no longer be viewed solely as a utility expense; it’s a strategic asset.
Yes, modern LED systems and networked controls offer clear energy and maintenance savings. But a significant return on investment comes from their impact on people. Thoughtfully designed lighting reduces cognitive strain for patients, minimizes interruptions for staff and creates an environment that feels calmer and more navigable.
In today’s healthcare landscape, patient experience scores directly influence reputation and reimbursement. Creating a space that feels supportive, intuitive and humane isn’t optional anymore. If you’re not leveraging lighting as part of your wayfinding strategy, you’re leaving both patients and staff at a disadvantage.
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The WELL Building Standard emphasizes visual comfort, which is foundational to effective wayfinding. If lighting creates glare or visual fatigue, people are less comfortable moving through a space, and less confident navigating it.
Historically, hospitals were infamous for harsh, over‑lit environments filled with glaring troffers. That approach is especially problematic for aging populations or for patients being transported on gurneys, where the ceiling is often their primary field of view. By incorporating indirect lighting, wall‑washing strategies and low‑glare fixtures, we can highlight architectural features instead of simply flooding the floor with light.
Illuminating a wall at the end of a corridor, for example, creates a visual destination. It subtly pulls people forward and reinforces direction, all while meeting WELL’s visual comfort criteria.
Q: The WELL Building Standard is gaining traction in healthcare. How does lighting based wayfinding align with that?