Welcome & Hope  

Background – The UnityPoint Health Meriter Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) clinic offers inpatient and outpatient services for children and teens ages 6-18 with severe behavioral health challenges such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and self-harming behaviors.

It is hard to appropriately express the emotional distress a young patient may be experiencing when checking in to the clinic. It was our goal to influence that experience by infusing positivity, calm and reassurance.

Experiences – This is what we do at Thysse. We help orchestrate the desired experience; we work to create a better experience. There is no environment in which our efforts matter more than healthcare.

WELCOME. A simple sentiment that can mean a lot to a child in crisis. When away from home and moving into a strange place, it isn’t easy to draw attention away from inner fear, doubt and anxiety, to something external. The intention here was compassionate human impact without being overbearing or looking childish. In its presentation, we needed to evoke a feeling of calm, comforting optimism.

We fabricated the WELCOME letters similar to a metal channel letter in order to create large wood letterforms that would be lightweight, lighting-friendly and match the clinic’s interior finishes. We then halo-lit each letter with a soft LED glow to add a visual element that would draw attention without being overstimulating. The custom background graphic wallpaper incorporated UnityPoint – Meriter brand colors alongside a brand color palette we developed for the facility. Non-distinct silhouettes of various age groups and genders were used to evoke “in common-ness” and belonging.

HOPE. The clinic donor wall had to work as more than just a list of names. The donors had to be recognized appropriately with a carrier that underscored the experience we were trying to create for the patient. We used laser-etched acrylic, edge-lit with LED lights to highlight each donor name. If new donors need to be recognized or names adjusted, each panel is changeable.

The donor and welcome displays work together with the same typeface and font size, same lighting and datum line. Standing at the check-in desk, a patient sees both words simultaneously – WELCOME & HOPE.

The HOPE fence is simple in its execution but impactful in its form. From afar, one sees purposely-placed translucent disks forming a soft wave of color, adding interest and warmth to the cold chain link. Coming closer, handwritten messages written on each disk become visible. Encouraging sentiments and expressive pictographs fill each disk. Each note, permanently scribed to staff and patients, becomes a reminder to ourselves and to each other – a reminder of HOPE & HEALING.