History Wall: Nebraska Methodist Health System

The Nebraska Methodist Health System, also known as Bestcare, is a nonprofit Nebraskan healthcare organization. Based on more than 120 years of caring, Methodist Hospital created Nebraska Methodist Health System in 1982.

It is the first health system in the region and engages three hospitals (Methodist Hospital, Methodist Women’s Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital), 21 health clinic locations, a nursing and allied health college, medical supply distributorship and central laundry.

Latitude designed and installed a History Wall for the Nebraska Methodist Health System.

History Wall Design

The design phase consisted of photographing historical photos and then incorporating them into the history wall with other historical information provided by the client. The photos and the historical information provided did not necessarily match up or relate but we managed to align them in a manner along the wall that suggested a linear timeline.

The existing wood panels on the wall provided a unique opportunity to allow depth for the vinyl watermark image in the background by being used as part of the design concept and allowing the reveals between each existing panel to be horizontal and vertical virtual timeline markers.

Notice how the dates, historical info and photos are aligned along a single horizontal reveal along the existing wood wall. The vertical reveals in the existing wall also help suggest date markers.

The panels are then staggered in a manner that would suggest the gaps between dates. 1927 dates would be stacked on top of each other and the dates for 1944, 46, 47 are grouped closer to one another with a larger gap between 1947 to 1955.

To allow for future dates, we left a large gap leading to the larger donor plaque on the far right with a water marked image in the background that helps fill the gap and allows the overall wall to handle the future growth of the hospital.

A Collaborative Sign Design Process

The successful completion of the project is a result of a collaborative process between Graphic Design, Production Design, Project Management and Installation.

Many long discussions about color and resolution and application of the vinyl graphics helped when working with the in-house print team to compare color samples and provide prototype prints.

Collaboration also helped determine the method for printing the vinyl in sheets and the best vinyl for the application (3M Controltac™), which simplified the installation of the vinyl on site, specifically laying the vinyl to the existing wall, carefully trimming around the edges of each square panel.

Finally, the installers did a great job with the installation of the panels, which required custom drilling techniques and cover-ups due to the layering and alignment of the various pieces.

Collaboration turned a pretty complicated concept to a final product that looks ideally simple and complementary to the environment.

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